Concreters in Morisset, 2264
Morisset lies 45 kilometres south-west of Newcastle and two from the M1, and council describes it as the service centre and transport hub for the villages around it. Dora Street, the shopping street, follows the ridge beside Morisset railway station, and Freemans Drive leads out to Cooranbong. Proclaimed in December 1887 while the line was being built, the town stayed small, with only 313 occupied homes in 1961. Council now names Morisset, with Cooranbong and Wyee, as the largest future growth area in the Central Coast and Hunter, and its North Morisset plan sets out three release precincts, Stockton Street, Freemans Drive and Terrigal Street.
A ridge town in the bush
The old grid is hilly. Council’s plan has it falling from high ground between Bridge and Wharf streets to a low corner near Doyalson and Newcastle streets, and expects buildings to step with the slope. The release areas sit in bushland that carries bushfire controls. Most of the suburb, the town grid included, is within the West Lake Mine Subsidence District, a strip beside the M1 falls in the Mandalong district, and a small area at the northern edge is in neither. Subsidence Advisory NSW exempts a driveway or hard stand space unless the lot is under guideline 4 or 5, so the district mostly comes up with a shed or garage, and the NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer answers lot by lot.
First pours and second thoughts
On the release streets the list is what a building contract leaves out: the driveway and its crossing, paths along the sides, an alfresco slab of a useful size, and a shed slab once the fences are up. This close to a motorway, a household may run several vehicles, a caravan or a trailer, so a wider driveway and a side hardstand are worth a thought. About one dwelling in five is a villa or townhouse and the median age is 53, which points to level, slip-resistant paths as a regular brief. The old grid’s mid-century cottages supply the removal and replacement work.
Finish and width
New frontages suit exposed aggregate or coloured concrete, with plain broom finish for paths, hardstands and shed floors. However wide the driveway, council’s standard sets the crossing at 3 to 4 metres across at the kerb and no more than 5 at the boundary, so a triple-width slab narrows towards the street.
Morisset rates
Every figure is a square metre rate, supplied and laid. The driveway is $95 to $185 and lands according to finish, with exposed aggregate occupying $130 to $185 of that span. Side paths are $90 to $130. The alfresco or patio slab is $100 to $180 and the shed or garage slab $110 to $150. Where concrete already on the block must come out first, about $35 is added. On a new Morisset lot the mover is timing: a block still bare of turf and fences lets a truck straight in, while the same pour after landscaping can call for a pump and hand digging. Give the calculator your areas, use the cost guide to see what sits inside a rate, and go over the Section 138 guide and the specification ahead of handover.
Council and the crossing
Morisset sits in the Lake Macquarie City Council area. What that council asks of a driveway crossing is set out on the areas page and, step by step, in the Section 138 guide.
Nearby: Toronto