THOUSANDS of new home builders in the city of Whittlesea will have construction costs slashed after the state government removed bushfire-prone area zones on their land.
Removing the zone – which requires the use of expensive bushfire-resistant building materials – will also benefit existing home owners who want to make alterations or build extensions.
Whittlesea council won its battle, after intense lobbying, to lift the zone imposed after the Black Saturday fire on most of the municipality north of Epping.
Whittlesea council’s building services manager Peter Phillips said the bushfire zone had been lifted from 15,500 properties.
He said the development of several new subdivisions and estates, such as Laurimar in Doreen and Aurora in North Epping, had reduced the bushfire risk.
He said these areas had been “inaccurately designated as being at risk” and been subjected to strict building codes including additions such as decks, garages and verandahs.
“The higher standards of construction are appropriate when properties are within bushfire-prone areas, but not necessary when well outside that risk area,” he said.
“We have worked with representatives at the Department of Planning and Community Development to produce a draft bushfire prone area [zone] map that excludes thousands of City of Whittlesea properties, which were inaccurately designated as being at risk.”
He said the state government signed off on the amendments.
Builder Greg Zuccala said the bushfire zone added $3000 to $5000 to a home worth about $200,000.
He said customers who had been hit with the additional costs “were not happy”.
“Common sense has prevailed,” he said.
“A reduction in the bushfire zones makes more sense and we’re comfortable with the amended areas.”
The department did not respond to questions about whether other areas were affected or why the bushfire-prone area zone was applied to Whittlesea’s growth areas.
The Northern Weekly revealed the council was lobbying for bushfire prone zone amendments in July.
