Wardrop Valley flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Wardrop Valley
(Tweed, NSW) - 8.72 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
8.72 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Wardrop Valley's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Wardrop Valley
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 26 Sep 2026
typical observed square 3 a day
Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Wardrop Valley at a glance
How Wardrop Valley is zoned
Buying in Wardrop Valley? The zoning, flood and bushfire lines on the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract are mapped controls - see our s10.7 certificate guide.
Across its 8.72 km², Wardrop Valley is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 2% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 77,652 m² across 34 parcels.
Who lives in Wardrop Valley
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Wardrop Valley suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 986, and decile 5 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Wardrop Valley's 80 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Murwillumbah Surrounds, the wider ABS statistical area containing Wardrop Valley. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Wardrop Valley itself.
8,963 in 2001 to 10,835 in 2025, up 21%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Wardrop Valley data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Zoning | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 26 September 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Wardrop Valley address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 41% of Wardrop Valley. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Wardrop Valley lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Wardrop Valley planning - frequently asked
Is Wardrop Valley flood-prone?
About 2% of Wardrop Valley falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 29%.
Is Wardrop Valley bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Wardrop Valley is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Tweed average of 91%.
Is Wardrop Valley under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 41% of Wardrop Valley, and over about 58% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 26 Sep 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 2,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 8 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Wardrop Valley?
The dominant planning zone in Wardrop Valley is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes National Parks and Nature Reserves and Deferred Matter.
Does Wardrop Valley have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Wardrop Valley.
What is the typical lot size in Wardrop Valley?
Across 34 surveyed parcels in Wardrop Valley, the median lot size is about 77,652 m².
What is the population of Wardrop Valley?
At the 2021 Census Wardrop Valley had 80 usual residents, with a median age of 39 and an average household size of 2.5 people. The wider Murwillumbah Surrounds statistical area, which contains Wardrop Valley, went from 8,963 people in 2001 to 10,835 in 2025, up 21%.
Is Wardrop Valley an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Wardrop Valley scores 986 and sits in decile 5 of 10 nationally and decile 5 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Wardrop Valley?
Median household income in Wardrop Valley was $1,312 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,394 for the typical suburb in Tweed. Median rent was $298 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,800 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kielvale | 3.0 km | 32% | 99% |
| Palmvale | 3.1 km | 1% | 100% |
| Fernvale | 3.4 km | 16% | 99% |
| Reserve Creek | 3.6 km | 20% | 100% |
| Clothiers Creek | 4.2 km | 27% | 98% |
| Nunderi | 4.8 km | 44% | 93% |
| South Murwillumbah | 5.3 km | 75% | 82% |
| Condong | 5.9 km | 100% | 87% |
| Farrants Hill | 6.0 km | <1% | 98% |
| Stokers Siding | 6.2 km | 6% | 100% |