Open Pile Burning: Central Council approves burn off policy

There’s been mixed reaction to the open pile burning policy, with landholders saying they desperately need to prepare for the bushfire season and the Mayor describing it as “poor policy”.

Central Council has approved its Open Pile Burning Policy, combining for former Wyong and Gosford LGAs. Picture: Sue Graham

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OPEN pile burning will now be permitted in environmental zones across the Central Coast.

Central Coast Council adopted its Central Coast Open Pile Burning Policy this week, with changes including the addition of environmental zones, along with a 2m pile diameter in line with NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and NSW Fire Brigade standards.

The decision to include environmental zones in the policy met with resounding applause from the gallery.

Glenning Valley resident Alex Campbell addressed council and said the decision would allow landholders to prepare the bushfires by removing fuel from their properties.

Mr Campbell said pile burning was crucial for bushfire preparation. Picture: Mark Scott

“I live on 25 acres and each year I can burn around a tonne of fallen timber,” Mr Campbell said.

“It’s an important part of our bushfire preparation. The bushfire burning season is getting longer. Our window of burning is getting smaller.”

However RFS volunteer Barbara Wills warned council that combining the former Wyong and Gosford areas in the one policy was a problem due to the vastly different topography and vegetation of each area.

Excess fuel around properties of collected for open pile burns

She said when people see smoke and ring triple-0, the RFS has a duty to inspect.

“This policy will attract more people to ring triple-0 to report these smoke sightings. We will have to attend every time,” she said.

Mayor Jane Smith tried to move motion to exclude environmental zones, however this was unsuccessful.

Cr Smith said while she did not object to hazard reduction, she warned the “self assessment policy doesn’t have sufficient checks and balances”.

“In my view this is poor policy, an attempt to apply one size fits all across the Central Coast,” she said.

She said the council has basically adopted the Wyong open pile policy across the coast.

“In the former Gosford area, communities fought hard for environmental protection,” she said.

The policy was changed and finalised in consultation with fire authorities.