The review will cost about $200,000 and will be partly funded by $80,000 from the Department of Planning, the owners of key sites and the council.

A key component will be a review of the designated tall building areas and the design of tall buildings in Forster Tuncurry.

The study will also help with the development of urban and architectural design guidelines for medium density development near the Tea Gardens foreshore and in the vicinity of the Hawks Nest town centre.

In a report to the council, its manager of strategic development, Roger Busby, said that the main outputs of the review would be new Local Environment Plan provisions for high-density development at Forster Tuncurry, as well as a comprehensive urban and architectural design Development Control Plan for Forster Tuncurry and Hawks Nest/Tea Gardens.

The report said that for some years, high and medium density development had been allowed over parts of Forster Tuncurry within the medium and high-density residential zones as well as in the town centre business zone.

The council's Development Control Plan for Tall Buildings allows buildings of between three and 10 storeys in various locations.

Several tall buildings had been developed under the current policies and it was now appropriate that a review be undertaken with regard to changes in state government legislation and policy and emerging design options for achieving higher densities.

Mr Busby's report said that over the past four years there had been an average of 2.5 tall buildings approved each year.

This trend was expected to continue because of the area's rapid population growth and its increasing popularity as a tourist destination.

He said that Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens were experiencing pressure for development and redevelopment, especially along the waterfront of the Myall River at Tea Gardens and around the town centre, and along the waterfront at Hawks Nest.

A medium density zone applies to certain parts of the two towns, generally in the vicinity of the town centres, along the Myall River foreshore and near the beach.

At Tea Gardens, especially along the waterfront, the traditional village character was undergoing change to new style medium density residential development, which was causing considerable community concern.

Mr Busby said that the council wanted to have in place comprehensive guidelines that clearly set out the form and character of new developments.