Ross Lane is closed because it rained? No surprises there. What is surprising to some local residents is the plan to build 300 residential houses on the land adjacent to Ross Lane which floods regularly.
Those local residents are concerned about the planned filling and building on the site, that has been labelled ‘flood-prone’ rather than ‘floodplain’ under current planning regulations.
According to residents who contacted The Echo, this site actually floods more than other areas around it that have been classified ‘floodplain’ by the NSW state government flood mapping department.
The Saltwood @ Kinvara development at Lennox Head requires a fill depth of three metres, that is around one million cubic metres of fill.
‘Stage 1 of this development is directly adjacent to Ross Lane which is a main community access from Byron, Suffolk, Lennox, and Ballina to the M1 motorway,’ explained one resident who asked not to be named.
‘This paddock [where the proposed 300 residential houses are proposed] floods frequently in medium to large rain events already, which regularly close Ross Lane. We have photos that clearly show this paddock floods more than others that are classified “floodplain”,’ they said.
Another local resident said that Ross Lane was closed at least six times during 2024 rain events.
‘The onsite ponds proposed by the developer at Ross Lane may not have enough scope to catch, distribute, and mitigate the water flow during high rain events, such as the recent Taree rainbomb or even the rain events of 2022 here. That area is already saturated. We want people to have housing, but we want people to have safety as well,’ they said regarding the development.
Doubling the size of Lennox Head
‘Over 20 years they are planning around 2,800 houses and that will more than double the current population of Lennox Head. We are not opposing the rest of the development, but we are concerned about the 300 residential houses proposed next to Ross Lane.
‘There is significant risk to people living on flood-prone land. You start to lose faith in those making decisions if these types of developments keep getting approved. People who have suffered trauma, they need to be able to rely on these decision-makers to make good decisions. There are other creative ways to look at where to build, for example, above shops in West Ballina, or in Pimlico – there are areas that didn’t flood that would be good for residential housing. We need housing and we need it not to be in the flood zones.’
Controversial zoning
The site next to Ross Lane was rezoned for residential development around 15 years ago. The rezoning was highly controversial at the time with significant objections from the local community due to the flood-prone site.
Improved flood outcome
A spokesperson for Saltwood @ Kinvara told The Echo that, ‘A critical aspect of the application will be an assessment of flooding as you have noted. We have designed the project to the highest technical standards for flood immunity. On our current model, our project will see an improved flood outcome for the immediate area. Our assessments – that will be fully available for public review – are being modelled on the most recent flood data available.
‘Specifically with Ross Lane, the development is offset from the road with various flood mitigation works proposed between residents and Ross Lane. Overall we expect to see a reduction of flooding levels at Ross Lane.’
However, locals have pushed back against this telling The Echo that, ‘No amount of engineering or flood control will reduce the risk of flooding Ross Lane and surrounding houses when you’ve got a gridlocked channel and creek through the national park’s swamp that is the only escape for water in the valley, and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service will not let them increase water flow or dredge out this canal.
‘The development’s current water management plan still shows them sending water north under Ross Lane, and then it has to travel east and eventually south back under Ross Lane. This is crazy. This just adds to the amount of water wanting to eventually naturally cross Ross Lane, which adds to the flooding dilemma.’
The development application (DA) is currently with Ballina Shire Council but is not yet up for public comment. The final decision on the DA will be made by the state government due to its size, not the Ballina Shire Council.
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