Forest fire experts have expressed concern over moves to build new suburbs west of Canberra, saying the houses built there would be directly on the “line of fire”.
The ACT government has begun an assessment of a 10,000-acre strip of land for future expansion of the city, known as the West Bank Research Area.
The 20-kilometer stretch of mostly rural land runs from the existing suburbs of Belconnen in the south to Tuggeranong and in the west to the Murrumbidgee River.
But in the gloomy echoes of the 2003 Canberra fire storm that claimed four lives and about 500 homes, fire scientists say the city will face even greater wildfire threats from the west in the west. future.
They also say these suburbs would be the hardest hit by the fires.
They have warned the government that deadly fires are likely to be more frequent and planners should not put the proceeds from the sale of land above the safety of the community.
Growing capital is expanding westward
With the population of Canberra almost doubling in the next 40 years, new supplies of suitable suburban land are being sought.
The government has a policy of building 70% of new homes within Canberra’s “existing footprint”, but even a modest 30% suburban expansion would require tens of thousands of new homes on new estates.
The western shore research area is nearly 10,000 acres and could house thousands of new homes. (Supplied)
The government had previously ruled out land development in Kowen, east of Canberra, effectively leaving the city with only one direction, to the west, to expand.
But it has long been a controversial proposal, with the former Land Development Agency criticized by the Auditor General of the ACT for a “lack of probity” over its $ 43 million purchase of rural land in the ‘west.
ACT Deputy Director of Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development (EPSDD) Erin Brady said it would now take a decade to complete her comprehensive studies.
“Land is not infinite in terms of land available for research, so this is really one of the big areas we need to look at to see if there is capacity,” Dr. Brady said.
“We need to investigate what the best future uses are, so they could be (environmental) compensations, rural uses … or if there is capacity to have residential development.”
The suburbs on the “line of fire”
But a group of government-appointed independent experts has sounded the alarm, saying it has “very serious concerns about the quality” of the area government’s forest fire risk assessment.
The ACT Bushfire Council pointed out glaring errors in the government’s initial technical studies, saying the consultants misread the topography and scrub cover.
The new suburbs of Molonglo are being built near bushes. (ABC News: Greg Nelson)
His 2021-22 Forest Fire Preparedness Report warned Emergency Service Minister Mick Gentleman that there would be “a greater risk of catastrophic fire weather conditions” in the coming years.
And, the Forest Fire Council said, while “95 percent of the research area was mapped as suitable for urban development with low levels of forest fire (BAL) attack.” it seemed wrong.
“The Council does not believe that the forest fire risk assessment should adequately take into account the history of forest fires, topography and vegetation systems in the research area or the climate change scenarios planned for Canberra.” , the report said.
Dr. Erin Brady said that the technical study was only a preliminary assessment and that much more work would need to be done with the involvement of various agencies.
“Fires, especially here in Canberra, are one of the big considerations for any of the planning work we do,” Dr. Brady said.
Forest fire warnings “must be taken seriously”
For decades, the ACT Bushfire Council provided independent advice to the government and examined government risk reduction efforts.
Its members have traditionally come from senior government executives, fire and forestry experts, planning bodies and key stakeholders.
ANU Fenner School Forestry Professor Peter Kanowski says ACT Bushfire Council’s concerns about expansion need to be taken seriously. (ABC News: Greg Nelson)
But last year the body was ruled out in favor of a “Multi Risk” advisory board, with less emphasis on preparing for wildfires and more on other natural disasters, including storms.
Peter Kanowski, a forestry professor at ANU Fenner School, served on the former ACT Forest Fire Council for five years after the 2003 fires.
“In my time on the Fire Council, I found that the government was receptive to council advice, as it should be,” Professor Kanowski said.
“The council’s approach is really strategic on the one hand, but also accountable to the government on the other.”
Professor Kanowski said the Council’s concerns about suburban expansion to the west should be taken seriously.
“All the development on the west side of Canberra increases the risk of forest fires because our fire time is coming from the west,” he said.
“We experienced this and how intense it could be on January 18, 2003.
“Anyone in the western suburbs of Canberra is potentially on the line of fire.”
A new approach to planning is needed in a changing climate
University of Canberra academic and former chair of the ACT Climate Change Council, Barbara Norman, said the city’s increased fire risk required rethinking planning rules.
The government is looking for a massive area of rural land for new suburbs that would radically change Canberra.
“We are facing a much warmer future in Canberra, a warmer, drier future, with the risk of sudden extreme weather events as well,” said Professor Norman.
“The Western Research Area … needs to take fire risks and climate risks into account, so fire ecologists need to be very involved in our decision-making.”
He also warned the government not to be swayed by the prospects of mass land sales.
“There is a risk that decisions will be made about revenue considerations because of the history of our ACT revenue base, but we need to go further with clarity,” he said.
“We need to remember that our planning system was inherited from the British, almost overlapping subdivisions, not thought of in terms of terrain shape and connection to the country.
“We need to reconsider our planning system to take these risks into account and not assume that the environment will remain the same in the future.”
Western suburbs need fireproof homes
Canberra builder Dan Fitzpatrick said it was possible to build houses in high-risk areas.
But it required a comprehensive planning approach, including smarter building design and landscaping, and better advice from fire managers.
Builder Dan Fitzpatrick says he has seen too many new homes built with the wrong materials. (ABC News: Craig Allen)
Fitzpatrick said housing construction rules seemed more prudent on the border than in the ACT.
For a building project near Sutton, north of ACT, he was asked to consult with both NSW environmental agencies and the Rural Fire Service to determine a suitable buffer zone around the house. .
And most importantly, he had to build it with fireproof materials, such as steel and concrete, to withstand the onslaught of embers.
“It’s a delicate balance between being among the trees and the future testing of those trees that may cause problems with forest fires in the future,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick had to consult with NSW environmental agencies and the RFS to determine a suitable buffer zone around the house he is building in Sutton. (ABC News: Greg Nelson)
He was concerned that the ACT government had not implemented enough building code reforms after the 2003 fires, and had seen too many new homes built with the wrong materials.
“I guess the use of materials is the most important thing in the new suburbs,” he said.
“I still see a lot of wood and stuff outside when you’re in the urban strip, right in front of open bushes or a national park, for example, and you see softwood and stuff outside the houses, it seems not. – no.”
Fitzpatrick said the ACT needed an independent body to monitor the risk in areas prone to wildfires.
“We definitely need an agency that can oversee the risk of forest fires in Canberra when it comes to construction,” Fitzpatrick said.
“It’s in New South Wales, it’s in Victoria. At the moment it’s only covered by the ACT venue codes and it’s probably not strict enough.”
Posted 13 hours 13 hours ago, Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 7:10 PM, last updated 9 hours, 9 hours ago, Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 10:34 PM