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Only road into Yamba in the Clarence Valley cut by flood waters at Shallow Channel, 3 March 2022 flooding. IMAGE: Clarence Valley Council
Yamba Road during February-March 2022 flooding. IMAGE: The Daily Telegraph
Shores Drive, Yamba, March 2022. IMAGE: YambaCAN
Yamba suffered unprecedented flooding earlier this year, particularly in Golding, Cook and Endeavour streets (lower left-hand corner of pic). Meanwhile, amid the arguments put by Yamba residents that this flooding was caused by poor planning for development on the West Yamba floodplain, the West Yamba Landowners Consortium’s WYURA Flood Impact Assessment notes that “Golding Street … is already shown to be largely filled … such, that the majority of the site is above the 1 in 100 annual exceedance probability flood level. Photo: Contributed [Clarence Valley Independent, 24 October 2022]
Clarence Valley Independent, 24 April 2024:
Greens MLC Sue Higginson says Grevillea Waters Yamba residents are in the “fight of their lives” against an “intolerable” development proposal for 16 townhouses on adjacent flood prone land which was claimed may put the lives of the 200 plus residents at risk.
Ms Higginson, who is the chairperson of a current NSW parliamentary current inquiry into the planning system and impacts of climate change on the environment and communities visited the Hometown Australia owned village on Sunday to hear the residents’ concerns about the development proposal for 30 Golding Street, Yamba.
She said she was extremely impressed by how organised the Grevillea Waters community were and how they have “forensically analysed” the development proposal to make comprehensive submissions to council addressing their concerns.
“They have applied their lived experience, that local knowledge to the DA that is before them, and I believe their concerns are very clear, very real, and very accurate…they’re in the fight of their lives,” she said.
Touring the site on the village bus gave Ms Higginson first-hand perspective of the impact of the 2022 flood, viewing photos of the development site 90 cm under water.
“You can’t say that land that was impacted like that in 2022, with that volume of water, is not going to impact this site, and the problem is that the development application documents say there will be no adverse flooding impacts,” she said.
“I don’t think that conclusion can be accepted, and I don’t think that it can be supported.”
Ms Higginson, former senior lawyer at the Environmental Defenders Office, said she advised residents to continue on the active and proactive engagement they are having with the development proposal, and they are appealing to every possible person who may be able to influence the outcome of this development proposal.
“Really, the best thing that can happen here is that the council refuses this development,” she said.
“It won’t be the best thing for the proponent, and I accept that, but the reality is this is not the kind of development that should go on that site…placing as many townhouses as possible on that site to maximise the return is not in the best interests of this local community.”
Ms Higginson said the planning system was at a junction where we need to respond to the real-life threats to the community and our environment, now that our climate is changing.
“The reality here is that we’re talking about 200 or more members of our community that are among the most vulnerable, and we are considering whether we should pose an intolerable risk on their lives, their wellbeing, their homes, and the physical environment in which they live and that’s a real concern,” she said.
Ms Higginson said she will be immediately writing to NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully, and Clarence Valley Council, and informing her parliamentary inquiry committee of the plight of Grevillea Waters residents.
Grevillea Waters Residents Committee Focus Group GWRCFG spokesperson David Robinson thanked Ms Higginson for her helpful and informative discussion with the group.
He said Ms Higginson explained the new planning methodologies being developed to help Councils decide on whether or not to proceed with marginal flood plain developments – particularly when there was a high risk to life and property, but said councils were under pressure to address the state housing shortage.
“She was aware of a November 2023 Canberra Times article – in which Planning Minister Paul Scully had claimed to be considering scaling back high-risk flood plain developments in NSW (including in the Clarence Valley) – especially where there would be a risk to life in the case of a mass evacuation,” Mr Robinson said.
“Ms Higginson believes that Grevillea Waters Village deserved special consideration, given the age and medical condition of the many residents in the Village.”
Clarence Valley Independent, 24 April 2024:
It was standing room only at Yamba Golf and Country Club on Sunday as more than 250 Clarence Valley residents proactively engaged in a flood awareness and resilience meeting, leaving with vital knowledge to help them survive and conquer the next stormwater and Clarence River flood event.
The Yamba Community Action Network Yamba CAN Inc. and Valley Watch who hosted the meeting invited politicians, council’s GM, councillors, the SES, NSW Police, Fire and Rescue NSW, and NSW Ambulance to attend.
Clarence Valley Deputy Mayor, Jeff Smith, Cr Greg Clancy, and potential council candidate, Cristie Yaeger attended.
Yamba CAN Chair Col Shephard opened the meeting, defining awareness and resilience before advising attendees to study two important clauses in the Clarence Valley Council Local Environmental Plan 2011, 521 relating to flood planning, and 522 about Special Flood Considerations.
Valley Watch Treasurer Graeme Granleese then spoke about the State Disaster Mitigation Plan, encouraging locals to have input to help create a Disaster Adaptation Plan for the area.
Keynote speaker, Greens MLC and chair of a current NSW parliamentary inquiry into the planning system and impacts of climate change on the environment and communities, Sue Higginson said the NSW planning system which was developed in the 1970s is archaic and “broken” and the inquiry aims to help reform the system.
She said after the 2022 floods both the Prime Minister and Premier both said we need to stop any further developments on floodplains.
“The system facilitates these developments
… it’s a planning system of the past,” she said.
“It often goes against the wishes of local people, with local knowledge.”
Ms Higginson commended Yamba CAN Inc. and Valley Watch for their proactive actions and advocacy in educating and informing the community about floods.
“You are the key to your future in developing your preparedness for the next flood event,” she said.
After an informative and graphic slideshow of images and videos of the 2022 flood, Yamba CAN Inc. executive member and long-term Yamba resident, Craigh McNeill, who has spent hundreds of hours researching councils new flood model, presented valuable information on flood awareness, how Yamba floods, Australian Height Datum AHD and how it is calculated.
According to council’s new flood model, Mr McNeill discovered in a 1 in 100-year flood most houses with a 2.5 metre floor level AHD between the Angourie Road roundabout to Oyster Channel, Yamba, would flood.
Mr McNeill said Lake Wooloweyah significantly impacts Yamba flood behaviour, in the 2022 flood the lake continued to fill for 28 hours after the flood peak at Yamba, and Oyster Channel holds back floodwater, exacerbating and extending effects on Yamba.
SES Community Capability Officer, Tracey Doherty clarified that Yamba Bowling Club isn’t the designated flood refuge for Yamba, and flood refuges are determined by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
Mrs Doherty encouraged everyone to develop an Emergency Plan, have an Emergency Kit prepared, and to download and understand the Bureau of Meteorology, Hazards Near Me and Emergency Plus smartphone apps so they are prepared for the next event.
In the event of a flood, Mrs Doherty encouraged everyone to watch the Clarence Valley SES Facebook page for alerts, to listen to ABC radio 94.5 the official emergency broadcaster, and she advised people to have a location to evacuate to rather than relying on a designated flood refuge......
Ms Higginson said the event was a “remarkable” meeting, she was overwhelmed by how many people attended and the clear message that locals delivered was “we have got to stop development on the Yamba floodplain”.
“People want to be prepared for floods and they don’t feel they have the information they need to be prepared, so it was fantastic that the SES were here to start that conversation,” she said.
“What was clear, is that everyone in this room feels as though their council are letting them down at the moment.”......
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