Council
24 October, 2025
Concerns over committee transparency, flood risk
A staff report on the September meeting of Wingecarribee’s Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee has lead to a lengthy discussion on committee transparency and concerns over the proposed Bowral South New Living Area (NLA).
A staff report on the September meeting of Wingecarribee’s Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee has lead to a lengthy discussion on committee transparency and concerns over the proposed Bowral South New Living Area (NLA).
Staff recommended that council receive the minutes from the committee’s September 22 meeting and that it endorse the committee’s recommendations relating to the Yerrinbool Drainage Masterplan and the Bowral South NLA Flood Impact and Risk Assessment (FIRA) Part One.
Cr Sara Moylan moved an amendment that council defer adoption of the minutes and that it consider alternate proposals to the Bowral South NLA.
She also expressed concern over the committee’s lack of transparency given members of the public were locked out of the September 22 meeting.
As a councillor she was also not allowed to attend the debate.
Cr Moylan said council’s Draft Code of Meeting Practice “speaks to the transparency of council meetings and committee meetings”.
Cr David Kent said the committee had been well-vetted with community experts spending hours considering reports. He said it would be “disrespectful” for council to override the committee’s decision.
Cr Moylan said the FIRA failed to acknowledge the flood risk to Burradoo and Berrima if the Bowral South NLA goes ahead.
She said she was not against development but she was against putting homes in a flood prone area and she was against “tacking homes on the side of our towns and villages”.
Cr Moylan said council shouldn’t be looking at the FIRA in isolation and urged councillors to consider the bigger picture.
“This is the first time Bowral South has come before us,” she said at council’s October meeting.
“We need a broader debate about whether this is something we want to see in our shire,” she said.
When Cr Moylan’s amendment was lost, Cr Russell moved an alternate amendment that council consult Dams Safety NSW about the risk posed to the proposed Bowral South by Wingecarribee Reservoir.
She said there had yet to be any consultation with Dams Safety NSW despite it being a planning imperative.
“This is a hot topic for the community and we don’t want to miss anything here,” Cr Russell said.
She said council needed to ensure it was “ticking our governance boxes on due diligence”.
Staff advised that council hadn’t engaged directly with Dams Safety NSW because Wingecarribee Reservoir was managed by WaterNSW.
They said any information about the safety of the reservoir – including dam break modelling – was held by WaterNSW and was “highly confidential”.
Cr Moylan commended Cr Russell’s proposed amendment.
“We need as much due diligence as possible on this very important issue,” she said.
“It was a very important issue during our election and all of those who did stand for election were emphatically against this Bowral South NLA.”
Cr Kent said not all councillors were opposed to the Bowral South NLA and he had made “no such statements”.
Cr Russell’s amendment was also lost.
When the original staff recommendation was put to council, Cr Moylan said the proposed Bowral South NLA was of “great concern” to the community and that residents hadn’t heard from council on the issue for more than a year.
“We need to remind ourselves that we are talking about 2200 homes which is 6000 to 7000 people,” she said.
“The schools are full. Only yesterday I talked to someone who couldn’t get their child into school,” she said.
“We will have increased traffic and no significant new infrastructure.”
Cr Moylan said the flood risk study couldn’t be considered in isolation because it was part of a much bigger development with “serious issues at hand”.
“When bad decisions are made we need to stop them before they continue,” she said.
Cr Moylan urged council to “press pause” on the proposed NLA and look at other options for delivering new homes in the Wingecarribee Shire.
Mayor Jesse Fitzpatrick questioned why Cr Moylan would be asking council to press pause on whole development when it was simply discussing minutes from the Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee.
The staff recommendation was carried.
The proposed Bowral South NLA is located between Eridge Park Road and Kangaloon Road with its boundaries including the Wingecarribee River and Bong Bong Racecourse.
Bowral South NLA is one of six New Living Areas (greenfield land release areas) identified in the Wingecarribee Local Housing Strategy. According to council, it would provide a diverse mix of housing designed to meet the shire’s long-term needs and address a state-wide housing shortage.
Council staff are currently reviewing feedback on a Draft Master Plan with a report expected to go to council for consideration early next year.
Read More: Southern Highlands, Bowral South, Bowral