Fire breaks plan ‘pain’

Yallingup rural homeowners expressed concern over changes to the City of Busselton’s proposed bushfire management plan during a council meeting on Wednesday.

The proposed changes require an asset protection zone of 25m around homes and that fire breaks be excavated for firefighting access.

The City of Busselton noted WA’s new Bushfire Attack Level framework increased the cost for people building homes in rural areas.

Yallingup resident Duncan Gardiner said the proposed changes devalued properties and would cause “pain and heartbreak”.

“You do not retrospectively go back and change regulations. If you look at the costs, it will be an excess of $100,000 to construct fire breaks around just 19 lots in Yallingup,” he said.

“It will certainly spread dieback on properties and there has been no concern for the environment or ratepayers.”

City of Busselton Planning and development services officer Paul Needham said bushfire planning became more complex when lots adjoined bush reserves, and concerns had been relayed to the WA Government about the new regime.

“I have some concerns about the amount of vegetation that needs to be cleared to meet the asset protection zone requirement and we want to genuinely test that,” he said.

“It does not require the removal of all of the vegetation.”

A public workshop to discuss the draft bushfire management plan in Dunsborough was proposed by Mayor Grant Henley.