Forreston flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Forreston
(Adelaide Hills Council, SA) - 35.61 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
35.61 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Forreston'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 Forreston
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
typical observed square 8 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 3,500 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
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.
Forreston at a glance
How Forreston is zoned
Selling in Forreston? 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 35.61 km², Forreston 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. The dominant land-use zone is Productive Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 86,221 m² across 230 parcels.
Who lives in Forreston
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Forreston 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 1030, and decile 8 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Forreston's 407 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Adelaide Hills, the wider ABS statistical area containing Forreston. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Forreston itself.
6,763 in 2001 to 7,256 in 2025, up 7%.
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.
Forreston 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 Forreston 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 26% of Forreston. 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 Forreston lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Forreston planning - frequently asked
Is Forreston flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Forreston and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 1%).
Is Forreston bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Forreston is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Adelaide Hills Council average of 100%.
Is Forreston under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 26% of Forreston, and over about 62% 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 2,000 ft, with an average of 5,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 20 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 Forreston?
The dominant planning zone in Forreston is Productive Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Township.
Does Forreston have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Forreston.
What is the typical lot size in Forreston?
Across 230 surveyed parcels in Forreston, the median lot size is about 86,221 m².
Does Forreston have a train station?
There is no train station inside Forreston itself. The suburb is served by 2 bus stops.
What is the population of Forreston?
At the 2021 Census Forreston had 407 usual residents, with a median age of 48 and an average household size of 2.8 people. The wider Adelaide Hills statistical area, which contains Forreston, went from 6,763 people in 2001 to 7,256 in 2025, up 7%.
Is Forreston an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Forreston scores 1030 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 Forreston?
Median household income in Forreston was $2,079 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,089 for the typical suburb in Adelaide Hills Council. Median rent was $258 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,950 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cromer The Barossa Council |
4.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| Kersbrook | 6.4 km | 0% | 100% |
| Birdwood | 6.8 km | <1% | 100% |
| Gumeracha | 7.0 km | 1% | 100% |
| Mount Crawford The Barossa Council |
7.2 km | 0% | 100% |
| Chain Of Ponds | 8.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| Kenton Valley | 9.5 km | 0% | 100% |
| Millbrook | 11.9 km | <1% | 100% |
| Mount Torrens | 11.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| Humbug Scrub City of Playford |
12.0 km | 0% | 100% |