Council
21 September, 2025
Flood Report Puts Major Development Under Spotlight
Wingecarribee Shire Council have released part 1 of a flood study on the contentious Bowral South development.
Wingecarribee Shire Council have released part 1 of a flood study on the contentious Bowral South development.
The site between Kangaloon Road and Eridge Park Road is proposed by Council to become home to over 2200 new dwellings. Residents have long expressed views about the site being inappropriate for such a large-scale development.
Part 1 of the flood study prepared by Maker Consulting Services comprises part of the agenda for the next Flood Committee of Wingecarribee Shire Council. The report commissioned and paid for by the council in part notes “overtopping at Kangaloon Road near Wiseman Road during the DFE storm, isolation for parts of the Sutherland Park Drive, and high levels of hazard within the mapped waterways in and around the site.”
Maker also prepared the draft Subdivision Plan, which provided for 83% of the development to have block sizes around 400sqm. Paddy Moylan, who chairs the Stop Bowral South group, said, “It is very concerning to our group that the people who prepared the draft subdivision plan are now preparing the flood study. This is the third flood study at least on this site, and it seems Council will do anything to bulldoze ahead with their plans. The Highlands is not a developer’s playground. After reading this report, it is even clearer that Council must not waste any more ratepayer dollars on this dodgy development”. Maker observes that they have undertaken the report “to support the strategic planning process for the Bowral New Living Area”
Part 2 of the report is yet to be published and will “assess the impact and risk associated with the development, including mitigation measures to alleviate adverse impacts of the development.”
Council staff, when providing the report to the Flood Committee, recommend that structures along the Wingecarribee River have a freeboard, meaning homes must be built 82cm above the river level. Such a proposal would require significant volumes of fill to be trucked in. Resident Susan Johnson has told The Southern Wire, “The water does not just magically disappear. If they bring in soil to build the houses up, then the water will just flow downstream. Burradoo and Berrima are going to be at high risk”.
Whilst the council recommends an 82cm freeboard, Maker’s report observes that “A peak depth between 50cm and 1m is observed through the middle of the site, increasing to 1.5m – 2.5m near the river.”
The Flood Committee meets at council on Monday at 10 am in the Bong Bong room. The meeting is open to the public. We shall update readers after the committee meets.
The full report can be accessed here: https://www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/files/assets/public/v/1/council/council-committees/wingecarribee-floodplain-risk-management-advisory-committee/2025/22-september-2025/agenda-floodplain-risk-management-advisory-committee-22-september-2025.pdf
Read More: Bowral, Southern Highlands