THE Augusta-Margaret River Shire Council will consider designating local bushfire prone areas under the Building Code of Australia, so construction in such areas can be enforced.
Shire staff have recommended that the council adopt a Bushfire Hazard Assessment Map, to be effective from September 1, and amend the Local Planning Strategy accordingly. If the proposal was adopted, the CEO would advise all builders, designers and related sectors, as well as the community, of the designation requirements. The staff report to council stated, “While there are already a number of provisions in LPS1 and previous schemes and existing mapping of bushfire ‘hazard’ areas that purport to require construction in accord with AS 3959, implementation of these has not been consistent and they have generally only been used in the context of the provision of advice to prospective developers/builders”.
The matters comes before council tonight.
