Keith Baldwin is furious.
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The Browns Crossing resident, along with fellow concerned residents, have been asking for a meeting with the Member for Oxley, Melinda Pavey, for 18 months with no response.
Now, out of the blue, a letter has arrived informing everyone Feburary 19 is the date and the time is … in the middle of the day!
“No one can get there then – we all work, many of us in Coffs Harbour,” Keith said.
“Other consultations have always been held in the evening but this feels like another way of ignoring us.”
Their concerns however, which relate to an earthwork embankment from the existing bridge on Browns Crossing Rd across Upper Warrell Creek and linking to the new highway, cannot to be ignored.
“Half the bloody flood plain has been blocked,” Keith said.
“This was a well-draining flood plain before and now they have filled it up.”
He said the flood modelling done did not adequately take local data into account, especially flood water velocity, which he clocked at 5 metres/second in the minor flood last March.
“The flood plan uses an average of 2.5 metres/second! It’s crazy.”
CLICK BELOW TO SEE WATER FLOWS AT BROWNS CROSSING LAST MARCH:
Nev Sutton, who has been living in the area for 67 years, reckons the earthworks fly in the face of common sense.
“This is ridiculous. We’ve already seen the new entry/exit washed away once, and that was a small flood ... a good flood will take it right out and then we will have no access,” Nev said.
“Plus its a corridor for the train and power lines – if there is a power outage in a big flood, TransGrid won’t be able to get there for weeks.”
Lesley Rae says it is safety that concerns her most – she has an 88-year-old mother plus there are 26 families living along the road.
“If there is a flood and someone is hurt, there is no way you’ll get them out … and a helicopter can’t fly in here in bad weather,” Lesley said.
“I’ve lived here for 40 odd years, I am used to floods and we never complained before but this situation now means we could be stranded for weeks.”
Adding to the frustration is the fact that in the original highway upgrade plans, there was going to be a new high level bridge but 18 months ago it disappeared from the designs.
Instead a new access has been built, shorter and steeper than the current one, which residents say will see unsuspecting drivers landing in floodwaters, especially at night. Not to mention the access problems for heavy vehicles pulling a heavy load, which will have trouble pulling up onto the highway.
And then there is the question of maintenance of the flood channel.
“We are worried that trees will grow through here and that will hinder the flows even more plus there is supposed to be a fence to protect the Giant Barred Frog, right in the flood channel,” Keith said.
When asked by the Guardian News, the Department of Planning and Environment said a suite of conditions were applied to minimise potential impacts to biodiversity.
“The approval contains a condition requiring an Urban Design and Landscape Plan, including elements such as the Browns Crossing Road flood channel. This plan was assessed and approved by our Department,” the spokesperson said.
“We regularly liaise with RMS to check the approved Plan is being implemented as the stages of the project roll out. As part of this plan, the landscaping treatment of the Browns Crossing Road flood channel involves a hydro-mulch mixture of ground covers, grasses and sedges.”
He said the proposal was also assessed by the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Energy, who approved the project with a requirement for a number of threatened species management plans, including a Giant Barred Frog Management Plan.
“Frog mitigation measures, including a fence, were approved by the Australian Department of the Environment and Energy, and will be monitored by the NSW Environment Protection Authority.”
Nambucca Shire Mayor, Rhonda Hoban, said she was not at all confident.
“Browns Crossing is always the first bridge to go under in the shire and it comes up very quickly at high velocity, with this steep access, you could be in the water before you know it,” the Mayor said.
“The residents predicted the new access would wash away as soon as it flooded, which is exactly what happened last year. I have made representations to Bob Higgins (RMS General Manager, Pacific Highway) and also to our local members, both State and Federal.”
“The maintenance of the flood channel also worries me – if it is re-vegetated as per the conditions of the Environmental Impact Statement, how can we get in there to do maintain it?”
She said her broader concern was that if the issues raised proved correct, then the council would inherit the problems and ratepayers will be left footing the bills.
In her response to questions, the Member for Oxley, Melinda Pavey, said the final flood report on the Browns Crossing Road was prepared by WMAWater, an independent flood specialist, who found the Warrell Creek to Nambucca Heads Pacific Highway upgrade will not impact flooding at Browns Crossing Road.
“The NSW Government arranged for an independent peer review of an earlier flood study for the Upper Warrell Creek catchment area after feedback from residents in April last year. The review found the highway upgrade does not change the frequency at which the existing Browns Crossing Road bridge is overtopped and confirmed the upgrade would increase flood levels in major events by 0.2 metres,” Ms Pavey said.