The City of Launceston will this week host a series of information sessions to update residents and property owners of Launceston’s levee protected areas.
Last year, the Council surveyed about 3000 residents and businesses in the identified levee protected areas to understand their perception of the flood risk, their tolerance of flooding and how they might respond during a major flood event.
More than 540 survey results were received from across the study area.
The results were used to assist in the development of the risk assessment of the Council’s new draft Flood Levee Protected Areas Specific Area Plan (SAP).
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said that although Launceston was protected by a significant levee system, some parts of the city could still flood under extreme circumstances.
“The reality is, Launceston is a flood-prone city. It remains the case that no flood defence system is fail-safe,” Mayor van Zetten said.
“When you take into consideration the impacts of climate change, the risk of flooding in these levee-protected areas is still a possibility.”
Mayor van Zetten said the new SAP would help ensure that future use and development of land protected by levees is managed to:
- Minimise risk to human life and damage to property caused by flooding,
- Ensure consideration of the flood risk in the location of future land uses, and
- Require new buildings to be resilient to the impacts of flood inundation.
The Council will host a number of information sessions over the course of three days next week to allow interested parties to speak with Council staff and experts to understand how the survey results helped shape proposed changes to the planning scheme.
The information sessions will be held throughout the day – at 1pm, 2pm, 5pm and 6pm at:
- Launceston Town Hall Reception Room – Tuesday, May 24
- Newstead Tennis and Squash Centre – Wednesday, May 25
- Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG), Inveresk – Thursday, May 26
Mayor van Zetten said the sessions would be particularly relevant to anyone who was planning or considering a development in the levee protected area at some stage in the future.
