News
13 May, 2026
Full story - Hannan blasts council over Bowral South proposal
Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan has used a Private Member’s Statement in NSW Parliament to launch a scathing attack on Wingecarribee Shire Council over the proposed Bowral South New Living Area.
Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan has used a Private Member’s Statement in NSW Parliament to launch a scathing attack on Wingecarribee Shire Council over the proposed Bowral South New Living Area.
Addressing Parliament last night, Mrs Hannan said she wanted to voice her “strong opposition” to the project “for many reasons pertinent to State Government agencies and departments” including flood, fire, water security, health and transport.
She said all planning for the project should be stopped.
Mrs Hannan described the Bowral South proposal as “illogical” and a waste of resources.
She called on the State Government to formally oppose the project and to remove the precinct designation as an urban investigation area.
Mrs Hannan said the Bowral South concept plan would lead to a “three-fold over-saturation” of Bowral’s long-term housing supply needs and an over-development of rural environmental lands.
She accused Council of putting “all of its eggs in one basket” by concentrating 100 per cent of Bowral’s long-term housing growth solely in Bowral South.
She the project would be under the total control of council as the proponent, consent authority and water and sewer provider and could be “fraught with danger” for the State Government.
Mrs Hannan said council had proven to the community and to the Government that it didn’t have the staffing resources, the financial resources or the town planning track record to progress a project of this size – “let alone coordinate the infrastructure delivery and housing approvals”.
She said the Government should not trust the council to manage a proposal for more than 1600 new homes.
She said the community was disappointed in council’s performance in relation to Bowral South and would prefer for it to “make decisions in the public interest” and to upgrade existing infrastructure “to a base level”.
Mrs Hannan said Bowral South was located on a flood plain that was regularly inundated after heavy rain and she feared thousands of new homes would be at risk.
She said importing huge amounts of fill to mitigate the flooding would simply push water onto existing adjacent properties and would create a “flood island effect” – effectively cutting off Bowral South's residents from essential services.
Mrs Hannan said approving new homes in close proximity to the Wingecarribee Reservoir was a risk that should be avoided – particularly given the reservoir is slated to double in size.
She said the proposal would also “complicate and constrict viable options to expand the region’s drinking reservoir for water security”.
In addition, she said, there were “extensive connectivity” and walkability issues with the Bowral South proposal.
She said the development site was “physically distant” from existing services and was cut off by two busy roads and the Wingecarribee River with no existing traffic signals, roundabouts, crossings, footpaths or cycleways to connect it with Bowral itself.
She said five years after adopting its housing strategy council had failed to respond to community concerns or complete the suite of mandatory site investigations and environmental assessments needed for the project to proceed.
Mrs Hannan said residents had described it as “a disaster waiting to happen” and she wants planning for the development to stop at all levels of government.
As already reported by The Southern Wire, Bowral South is a major new living area proposed for land at Burradoo that could ultimately accommodate 2200 new homes – nearly doubling Bowral’s population.
Documents show that council has already spent $600,000 progressing the proposal – yet the land remains privately owned and has not been rezoned.
According to council’s website, the vision for Bowral South is “an inclusive and well-connected community with homes for all and a shared identity that celebrates local cultural heritage”.
However the proposal has been plagued by controversy from the start – particularly in relation to flood risk and the impact it could have on Bowral’s character.
Council says it is “continuing to lead the master planning process, engaging with our community and State agencies to ensure this future residential development is well-planned, well-designed and supported by essential infrastructure”.
According to the Wingecarribee Local Housing Strategy population forecasts for the region are “fairly modest” but it notes that rapid growth of south-west Sydney and the new Western Sydney Aerotropolis could potentially have significant impacts for population growth and development pressure with the Wingecarribee Shire.
The region’s population is expected to grow from 49,000 people to between 51,500 and 56,000 people by 2041 with most of the growth expected in Bowral, Mittagong and Moss Vale.
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