Fords flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Fords
(Light Regional Council, SA) - 44.76 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
44.76 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Fords'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 Fords
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 3 Oct 2026
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.
Fords at a glance
How Fords is zoned
Selling in Fords? The zone and overlays on this page are the Planning and Design Code controls a Form 1 vendor's statement has to disclose.
Across its 44.76 km², Fords is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 4 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural. The median lot measures about 315,190 m² across 168 parcels.
Who lives in Fords
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Fords 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 1022, and decile 8 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Fords's 81 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Light, the wider ABS statistical area containing Fords. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Fords itself.
7,332 in 2001 to 10,631 in 2025, up 45%.
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.
Fords 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 | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data, 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 3 October 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 Fords 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 6% of Fords. 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 Fords lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Fords planning - frequently asked
Is Fords flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Fords and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 4%).
Is Fords bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Fords is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Light Regional Council average of 100%.
Is Fords under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 6% of Fords, and over about 13% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 3 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 1,500 ft, with an average of 4,500 ft. 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 Fords?
The dominant planning zone in Fords is Rural.
Does Fords have heritage-listed places?
Fords has 4 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Fords?
Across 168 surveyed parcels in Fords, the median lot size is about 315,190 m².
What is the population of Fords?
At the 2021 Census Fords had 81 usual residents, with a median age of 39 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Light statistical area, which contains Fords, went from 7,332 people in 2001 to 10,631 in 2025, up 45%.
Is Fords an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Fords scores 1022 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 8 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Fords?
Median household income in Fords was $2,083 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,874 for the typical suburb in Light Regional Council. Median rent was $248 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,700 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nain | 6.4 km | 0% | 100% |
| St Johns | 7.1 km | 0% | 100% |
| Bethel | 7.1 km | 0% | 100% |
| Kapunda | 7.8 km | 1% | 100% |
| Moppa | 8.1 km | 0% | 100% |
| Greenock | 8.2 km | 2% | 100% |
| Freeling | 8.3 km | <1% | 100% |
| Daveyston | 9.3 km | 0% | 100% |
| Linwood | 10.0 km | 0% | 100% |
| Morn Hill | 10.7 km | 0% | 100% |