Safety and certainty are at the heart of the release of the NSW Government's updated flood-prone land planning and development rules and guidelines.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes today launched the Flood Prone Land Package saying as natural disasters become more frequent and severe, communities needed to increase their resilience through better planning.
"Flood resilience starts at the planning level and the March floods, which devastated parts of NSW, were a reminder of how important this has become," Mr Stokes said.
"We support careful development of flood-prone land but that development needs to put community safety first - it's about keeping people and property safe.
"The new guidelines are an important reminder to plan for the future and ensure communities are sufficiently prepared in the event of extreme flooding."
Mr Stokes said the new package enables councils to have more flexibility to make informed decisions on land planning and development controls in flood-prone areas, giving them greater ability to manage the risk of extreme flooding.
"Over the last year we've consulted with the community, councils and a wide range of stakeholders, including emergency services and Infrastructure NSW, and we can now deliver changes for the benefit of everyone," Mr Stokes said.
Councils will have six weeks to amend their land use planning documents before the package commences on 14 July 2021. For more information visit the flooding web page.
