Western Sydney council blasts Minister over softened rules risking flood-prone homes

A NSW Minister has been blasted by western Sydney councils for softening rules on developers building on flood-prone land, with claims the change could see more residents put at risk.

Western Sydney councils have blasted a watering down of planning rules which they say make it easier for developers to put new houses on flood prone land.

It’s feared the changes to the Design and Place State ­Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) and Minister’s Planning Principals will create another disaster zone similar to Pitt Town Bottoms – a decade-old subdivision “where you flush the toilet and the town floods”.

As Western Sydney begins to clean up following the fourth major flood in two years, Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) president Barry Calvert took aim at a March decision by Planning Minister Anthony Roberts.

He said the change “leaves communities open to the long-term costs of climate change and natural disasters”.

“The Design and Place SEPP contained measures to prevent new housing in disaster-prone areas, measures which the Minister said would threaten affordable housing delivery,” Mr Calvert said yesterday.

Roof of a flooded house is seen near the overflowing Hawkesbury River in the northwestern Sydney suburb of Windsor. Picture: Muhummad Farooq

“Natural disasters destroy lives, they threaten community safety, and cause long-term financial and emotional trauma.

“On the back of a series of catastrophic floods, how can the government honestly argue that high-risk housing is affordable or sustainable?”

Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) president Barry Calvert.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet surveys the floods in the Hunter Region in a chopper this morning with Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke. Picture: David Swift

WSROC represents six western Sydney councils including flood hit Hawkesbury, Liverpool and Blacktown councils.

The Minister’s Planning Principles were brought in by former planning Minister Rob Stokes, who was replaced by Mr Roberts last December.

Mr Roberts scrapped the changes in March, saying “the Premier has given me a very clear priority – delivering more homes”.

The now-scrapped rules required councils to consider the risks of flooding into the future, particularly in light of climate change.

Graeme Colless runs Dad and Dave Turf farm at Pitt Town Bottoms and supply turf for most of Sydney's premier sporting grounds and arenas like the SCG, ANZ stadium and Royal Sydney Golf Course. Picture: Toby Zerna

They added another layer of protection, designed to prevent situations like Pitt Town Bottoms, which has flooded three times in the past 18 months.

In 2020 developer lobby UDIA argued that Mr Stoke’s changes would have added $50,000 to the cost of a home and would “unnecessarily sterilise large areas that are appropriate for urban development”.

UDIA NSW EO Steve Mann yesterday said: “We have got to find the right balance of risk so we deliver homes for our community.”

Rezonings in the Hawkesbury Nepean will be guided by the recommendations of the independent Inquiry into Flooding.

Mr Roberts was unavailable for comment, however a Department of Planning and Environment spokeswoman said “specific directions remain that require a range of natural hazards to be considered by consent authorities, including flooding.

“The Minister has not ­revoked any of the legally enforceable Ministerial Directions on the management of natural hazards under planning legislation.”

Originally published as Western Sydney council blasts Minister over softened rules risking flood-prone homes