Skip to main content

Perth Hills planning - can the fire risk be managed as new residential subdivisions roll out?

Broadcast 
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Firefighters tackle a bushfire at Parkerville in the Perth Hills.
Firefighters tackle a bushfire at Parkerville in the Perth Hills, January 12, 2014.(Department of Fire and Emergency Services)

In the Perth Hills the risk of bushfires is very real.
WA's Planning Minister Rita Saffioti has recently been under scrutiny for giving the green light to a planned housing subdivision in Mount Helena, despite WA's fire-fighting agency warning that the development posed a "catastrophic" fire risk.
Another much larger development is also being planned at North Stoneville.
In 2014 a fire ripped through Parkerville, Stoneville and Mount Helena destroying 57 homes and damaging many others.
Perth's ongoing urban sprawl means the Perth Hills is certainly not the only area that faces bushfire challenges, but there's no doubt it's one of the highest risk bushfire prone areas.
So can those risks be adequately managed in the Perth Hills? Many existing locals are concerned about the impact new residential developments in the area will have on existing infrastructure, the environment and their way of life.

Broadcast 
Fires, Urban Development and Planning, Disaster and Emergency Response, Bushfires
QR code image for downloading the ABC listen app

Join the conversation

Download the ABC listen app to text and call your favourite live radio