With the recent release of local flood data from the devastating 2022 floods now public, Council staff have told The Echo there is no budget this year to apply for funding to incorporate it into their planning instruments.
The Echo asked Council staff whether there would be any analysis or summary of the report made public by Council’s flood engineers/hydrologists, yet that also appears to be not forthcoming.
The Post 2022 Event Flood Behaviour Analysis – Brunswick River was quietly published on the SES website recently, and came without any announcement by the NSW Department of Planning & Environment.
The Echo also asked whether/when ‘this report will be incorporated into Council planning instruments’.
A Council staff member replied, ‘The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Flood Report has now been publicly released on the SES website and Council will shortly be sharing the link to it on our website’.
Floodplain management plans need updating
‘While the report’s findings provide various recommendations that Byron Shire Council support, we will not be making any changes to our planning instruments at this stage.
‘In order to do this, we would need our own updated floodplain management plan for each catchment in the shire.
A review to review
‘The tenders to review the Belongil and Tallow Creek Floodplain Management Plans are currently under review, and the successful consultants will be engaged soon. These have been funded by the NSW government’s floodplain management grant program. Staff will likely seek a further grant to complete a review of the North Byron Floodplain Management Plan as part of the 2025 NSW government’s floodplain management grant program. Unfortunately, at this stage, Council does not have budget to make an application in this year’s round that closes on 16 May.
‘All reviews will involve working closely with our established Floodplain Advisory Committee, etc’.
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