St Georges Basin flood study clears committee in 7-1 vote, with rules unchanged

Residents in the St Georges Basin catchment will see flood-risk planning advance towards Shoalhaven City Council adoption after the Land Use Planning & Development Advisory Committee endorsed Rhelm’s 2026 floodplain study in a seven-to-one vote. The endorsement does not change the Development Control Plan.

Councillor Matthew Norris was the only committee member to vote against endorsing the St Georges Basin Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan. The committee endorsed it for Council adoption as a basis for managing flood risk in the catchment into the future.

No date has been specified for Council to consider adoption.

The resolution also states that endorsing the study does not make any changes to Council’s Development Control Plan. Any changes to development controls must follow a separate legislated process requiring consultation and separate reporting as part of the new land use planning scheme.

That distinction leaves current planning controls unchanged for residents and landowners in St Georges Basin. The endorsed study can inform future flood-risk management and planning decisions, but it does not create an immediate new restriction or permission for development.

The committee also endorsed a separate Rhelm study and plan for the Lower Shoalhaven River catchment. It passed with the same seven-to-one vote split, with Cr Norris opposed. That resolution likewise stated that development-control changes must be handled through a separate legislated process with consultation and separate reporting.

The committee received an update on the new land use planning scheme and noted that further updates would be reported as the project progresses. No change to the scheme was adopted at the meeting.

Council’s next step is to consider adopting both floodplain risk management studies. Any proposed changes to development controls will be reported separately through the new land use planning scheme and will require consultation.