Planning street cards provide information about historical building and development applications from about 1908 to the 1990s.
Until 1945 only building applications appear on the cards. Development applications were not required by law until after 1945.
If a house was altered, extended or underwent a change of use, chances are there will be a street card for the property. Keep in mind though, just because a BA or DA was submitted and noted on a street planning card, it doesn't mean the works were approved or the works went ahead.
The street cards show all the applications submitted to the City of Sydney, even if original files and plans no longer exist. To see if certain records have survived and are available you will have to check Archives and History Resources. Ask the archivists for records made after 1987.
The street cards have been separated into sets because they became divided between different councils as municipal boundaries changed. For many decades, the City's local area boundaries covered a much smaller area than now, and it was smallest of all between 1988 and 1994. A set of maps showing city and ward boundaries since 1842 is available online in the Historical Atlas of Sydney.
The planning street cards have all been digitised. Each set is arranged alphabetically by the names of the streets in the area covered by the cards. Within each street, cards are arranged numerically by street address. The cards are not always in perfect order so it can pay to scout around within the set. Some streets with lots of cards are subdivided into sections, for example, by odd and even street numbers.
Building inspectors’ cards
Related to the Planning Street Cards are the Building Inspectors’ Cards. These cards provide a quick overview history of each building application received by the City of Sydney Council. If a building application was approved, a building inspector carried out periodic checks to ensure the work was in line with the approval. These cards summarise the building application and works.
Each card has fields to record the building application number, names of the applicant, architect, builder and engineer, the location of the work, estimated cost, a description of the work, dates of approval or disapproval, dates and details of inspections, and the date of completion of the work. Not all fields are filled in.
The majority of the Building Inspectors’ Cards date from 1941 to 1997. They have been digitised and can be searched in Archives and History Resources by address. They are also captured within the Development and Building collection.
Since building application files dealing with minor works from the period 1941-1978 were destroyed in 1982, these cards (along with the plans in the series Building Application Plans AS-0126) are a valuable summary of building modifications.
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