Ingleside report finds bushfire escape route risk with state government development plan
A report that found the escape route of thousands of residents on the northern beaches would not be adequate in the event of a bushfire is to be made public.
Manly
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A confidential report by a bushfire safety expert which was critical of state government plans to build nearly 1000 homes at Ingleside, is to be made public.
In the report commissioned by Northern Beaches Council, Lew Short of Blackash Bushfire Consulting concluded that evacuation would be an issue in the event of a fire.
He said pinch points along Powderworks Rd – which would be the main escape route in an emergency – could prevent a successful evacuation.
Mr Short was asked by the council to independently review a report by Eco Logical Australia which had looked at the issue on behalf of the state government.
That report called The Ingleside South Precinct Bush Fire Strategic Study found the proposed development presented a lower risk than previous applications.
A 2016 proposal to build 3400 homes in the suburb was scrapped in 2018 after serious concerns were raised by NSW Rural Fire Service.
However, Mr Short said in his review of the study that the proposed precinct did not adequately address previously identified evacuation issues along Powderworks Rd.
“There are still large areas of contiguous bushland adjacent to Powderworks Rd that present pinch point issues and potential to be cut in the event of fire,” he said.
“Similarly, other feeder roads face the same issue.”
Mr Short also said these were “specific concerns that have been previously raised for existing residents north of Mona Vale Rd and the adequacy of evacuation routes to cater for people outside the precinct or the larger catchment of people relying on the road”.
Mr Short also pointed out that the surrounding bushfire prone land “remains a significant issue”.
“It has not been documented why these areas are not being developed or provided with asset protection zones to increase evacuation availability and utility of roads within the urban release area,” he said.
“This is a significant oversight by the Department of Planning.”
The community has previously voiced concerns that around 3000 residents who would move into the proposed redevelopment on the edge of a national park – as well as those currently living in the vicinity – would not be able to evacuate quickly enough in the event of a bushfire.
Cr Vincent De Luca, who requested a copy of the report from council, said this was the most “frightening” issue he had ever fought on, saying there were “genuine concerns for people’s lives”.
He said the review of the report was “quite damning” and questioned why it had not been made available for councillors to consider before they were asked to vote on the proposal, or made available to the public earlier.
Nevertheless, councillors at the last meeting voted against the latest proposed development at Ingleside, while suggesting the state government hand over the land to council for free so it could be used as sports fields, of which there is a shortage on the peninsula.
Mr De Luca also said he had also called for reports by emergency services and the NSW RFS to be made available to the public if they had been submitted.
After De Luca’s own request to have a copy of the Blackash Bushfire Consultancy, it was decided to make the full report public and it will be uploaded to the council’s website in the next few days.
Northern Beaches Council CEO Ray Brownlee said the “report was referenced throughout the draft submission which councillors reviewed, including exceprts taken directly from the report”.
“The report was available at all times to councillors at their request,” he said.
“The vote to reject the NSW government’s plan for Ingleside was unanimously endorsed at the council meeting.”
A Department of Planning, Industry and Environment spokesman said the report was commissioned independently by Northern Beaches Council, not the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and “it did not form part of the exhibition”.
The Manly Daily requested a comment from the Department of Planning on the findings in the review.
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