LANDSCAPE DESIGN · Lower North Shore
Landscape Design in Cremorne
Cremorne’s blocks are some of the tightest on the Lower North Shore narrow terrace and semi lots, retaining walls holding up neighbouring gardens, and a harbour glimpse worth designing around rather than blocking with a shed. We rework small courtyards into usable outdoor rooms, with boundary planting doing double duty as privacy screening on blocks with almost no side setback.
- TYPICAL BLOCK Compact (40–100m²)
- COUNCIL North Sydney Council
- KEY OVERLAY Heritage conservation area
Why Cremorne is different
Compare a Cremorne block to one in Wahroonga and it’s a different design problem entirely. Here it’s square metres, not hectares — a 40–80m² courtyard doing the work of an entertaining area, kids’ space and garden all at once, often with a two-storey semi looking straight down into it. Retaining walls are load-bearing neighbours as much as garden features, and heritage conservation controls mean street-facing changes get more scrutiny than a backyard rebuild.
Services in Cremorne
Most Cremorne work is small-footprint by necessity: courtyard design, side-return gardens and boundary retaining, plus small-format pools where the block allows.
A project in the Cremorne area
This harbourside courtyard, minutes from Cremorne in Neutral Bay, shows the small-block brief we design for across the area: full-width bench seating, boundary planting for privacy, and a retaining detail that reads as a garden wall, not a barrier.
Cremorne council & site notes
North Sydney Council
Many Cremorne streets sit within a heritage conservation area, so street-facing fencing and garden changes usually need development consent rather than being exempt. Tree preservation orders apply to established natives, and courtyard retaining that backs onto a neighbour's yard often needs a party-wall style consent.
““They took a courtyard we'd basically given up on and made it the best room in the house.””
— S. Marsh, Cremorne
Cremorne FAQs
Yes, most Cremorne blocks are compact, and it's where we spend a lot of our time: courtyards, terraces and side-return gardens rather than sprawling lawns.
Often, yes. Many Cremorne streets sit within a heritage conservation area, so street-facing fencing and garden changes usually need development consent we handle that application as part of the design.
Small-format and plunge pools are common here we design them into a tight courtyard footprint, working around party walls and drainage falls rather than a standard pool spec.
ALSO SERVING NEARBY