Written by
06/11/2023
NSW Government is delivering on its election promise to no longer develop housing on high-risk flood plains in Western Sydney.
Plans to build 12,700 new homes in various Northwest Sydney suburbs were put on hold while the NSW Government initiated a flood inquiry following a major flood event in 2020.
Following a rigorous assessment process and review of expert advice on flooding, it has been determined that the proposed rezoning plans for Marsden Park North and Riverstone Town Centre will not proceed. Plans for West Schofields will partially proceed, subject to very strict conditions.
Expert flood advice indicates that the number of people unable to evacuate from the region in the case of a flood increased significantly if all potential development was to occur. Planning Minister Scully described the areas as the plain with the highest unmitigated flood risk of anywhere in Australia and mentioned the government is considering extending the measure to other dangerous flood plain areas.
For a 1 in 500 chance per year flood (similar to the worst flood on record), the risk to life would increase from an estimated 980 people under committed development to 23,700 people by 2041.
Photomontage of shelved plans for Riverstone Town Centre
What this demonstrates is that the NSW Government is taking a risk-based approach to planning decisions on dangerous flood plains of the 12,700 new homes previously proposed – but not approved – under the 3 rezonings. Only up to 2300 new homes will proceed.
Riverstone was expected to house 9000 people over the next 20 years. A large portion of this growth was expected to occur in the form of multi-storey apartment buildings within proximity to Riverstone Station.
Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley covers over 500km2 of floodplain in Western Sydney, stretching from Wallacia to Brooklyn and Wisemans Ferry. It includes land in Hawkesbury, Hills, Blacktown, Penrith, Central Coast, Wollondilly, Liverpool and Hornsby LGAs with more than 140,000 people living or working in the floodplain.
The valley is often compared to a bathtub – one with five taps flowing in only one drain. Between 2020 and 2022, the area flooded six times with some of the largest floods seen in decades. The extreme depth of floods in the valley means that large numbers of people often need to evacuate at short notice before roads are cut off. It is not possible to shelter in place in these areas.
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Propertied Insider is a planning and development digital publication dedicated to the NSW Market.
