The Hills Shire Local Emergency Management Plan

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The Hills Shire Local Emergency Management Plan

February 2020

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Page 3 of 59 Printed 5/05/2020 11:34 AM

Purpose

Details arrangements for prevention of, preparation for, response to and recovery from emergencies within the Local Government Area(s) covered by this Plan.

It encompasses arrangements for:

 emergencies controlled by combat agencies;

 emergencies controlled by combat agencies and supported by the Local Emergency Operations Controller (LEOCON);

 emergency operations for which there is no combat agency; and

 circumstances where a combat agency has passed control to the LEOCON.

Objectives

The objectives of this Plan are to:

 define participating organisation and Functional Area roles and responsibilities in preparation for, response to and recovery from emergencies;

 set out the control, co-ordination and liaison arrangements at the Local level;

 detail activation and alerting arrangements for involved agencies; and

 detail arrangements for the acquisition and co-ordination of resources.

Scope

The Plan describes the arrangements at Local level to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and also provides policy direction for the preparation of Sub Plans and Supporting Plans:

 Arrangements detailed in this Plan are based on the assumption that the resources upon which the Plan relies are available when required; and

 The effectiveness of arrangements detailed in this Plan are dependent upon all involved agencies preparing, testing and maintaining appropriate internal instructions and/or standing operating procedures.

The Plan reflects changes to the southern boundaries of The Hills Shire that came into effect on 12 May 2016 following the NSW State Government’s proclamation of the new City of Parramatta.

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Principles

The following principles are applied in this Plan:

a) The Emergency Risk Management (ERM) process is to be used as the basis for emergency planning in New South Wales. This methodical approach to the planning process is to be applied by Emergency Management Committees at all levels.

b) Responsibility for preparation, response and recovery rests initially at Local level. If Local agencies and available resources are not sufficient they are augmented by those at Regional level.

c) Control of emergency response and recovery operations is conducted at the lowest effective level.

d) Agencies may deploy their own resources from their own service from outside the affected Local area or Region if they are needed.

e) The Local Emergency Operations Controller (LEOCON) is responsible, when requested by a combat agency, to co-ordinate the provision of resources support.

EOCONs would not normally assume control from a combat agency unless the situation can no longer be contained. Where necessary, this should only be done after consultation with the Regional Emergency Operations Controller (REOCON) and agreement of the combat agency and the appropriate level of control.

f) Emergency preparation, response and recovery operations should be conducted with all agencies carrying out their normal functions wherever possible.

g) Prevention measures remain the responsibility of authorities/agencies charged by statute with the responsibility.

Test and Review Process

The Hills Shire Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC) will review this Plan every three years or after any of the following:

 Activation of the Plan in response to an emergency;

 Legislative changes affecting the Plan; and

 Exercises conducted to test all or part of the Plan.

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Part 2 – Community Context Annexure A – Community Profile

General

The Hills Shire is located in the north-western outskirts of Sydney approximately 30 km from the Sydney CBD. The Shire covers an area of approximately 370 sq. km stretching from the suburbs of West Pennant Hills in the south to Wisemans Ferry in the north.

Approximately 70% of the area is rural in character with the urban residential areas being concentrated in the southern part of the Shire. However these rural areas are diminishing as development occurs in new release areas at North Kellyville, Box Hill and Box Hill North.

The Shire is surrounded by the LGAs of Parramatta (south), Blacktown (south-west), Hawkesbury (north-west), Gosford (north) and Hornsby (east). It is generally bounded by the Hawkesbury River (north and west), Old Northern Road, Castle Hill Road, Pennant Hills Road, The Hills M2 Motorway, Windsor Road, Old Windsor Road and Boundary Road. The Shire is made up of 27 suburbs and localities and is divided into four electoral Wards. A number of the suburbs cross over into adjoining LGAs.

The suburbs/localities are:

 Annangrove

 Bella Vista

 Cattai

 Glenorie

 Leets Vale

 Maroota

 North Kellyville

 Rouse Hill

 West Pennant Hills

 Baulkham Hills

 Box Hill

 Dural

 Kellyville

 Lower Portland

 Middle Dural

 North Rocks

 Sackville North

 Winston Hills

 Beaumont Hills

 Castle Hill

 Glenhaven

 Kenthurst

 Maraylya

 Nelson

 Norwest

 South Maroota

 Wisemans Ferry

Council is currently undertaking a process to amend the boundaries of several existing suburbs and create a new suburb of Gables within the Box Hill North release area.

The northern and western boundaries of the Shire are largely set by the Hawkesbury River.

The northern part of the Shire is heavily vegetated with typically large amounts of dry sclerophyll forests, some wet sclerophyll forests and remnant areas of pastoral land, grassland and some open woodland.

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Topographically, the southern areas are characterised by the flatter areas and ridge/gully country, with the northern areas having much less flatter areas with more rugged ridge/gully country.

Landform and Topography

The Hills Shire is located within two bioregional provinces, Sydney Plains and Sydney Hills.

The Sydney Plains province covers the Cumberland Plain and occurs in the west of the Shire, whilst the Sydney Hills province includes the Hornsby Plateau and occurs in the north and east of the Shire.

Elevation within the Shire ranges from sea level at Wisemans Ferry to 239 metres at Maroota Trig Station. Much of the land within the Hornsby Plateau is underlain by Hawkesbury sandstone. The land of higher elevation around Dural, Glenhaven, Castle Hill and West Pennant Hills has a layer of Wianamatta shale over the sandstone. In the south- west, Wianamatta shale is on the lower plains and hills of the Cumberland Plain.

Alluvial deposits are found along the Hawkesbury River floodplain and in the flatter valleys along tributaries of the Hawkesbury (O'Hara's Creek, Blue Gum Creek, Cattai Creek, Caddies Creek, Little Cattai Creek) where swamps form the more extensive alluvial deposits.

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A number of soil landscapes occur within the Shire. Soil landscapes associated with Hawkesbury sandstone include Hawkesbury, Falconbridge, Gymea and Lucas Heights soil landscapes. Small areas of Oxford Falls soil landscape occur in Baulkham Hills and towards Winston Hills where flatter valleys occur and in the head waters of Little Cattai Creek and at Maroota. Higher elevations of Wianamatta shale have the Glenorie soil landscape present. The steep sheltered slopes of West Pennant Hills soil landscape can be observed at West Pennant Hills and Castle Hill, while Picton soil landscape is found at Winston Hills through to Baulkham Hills associated with the steeper slopes, and Wianamatta shale.

On the Cumberland Plain, Blacktown soil landscape is associated with Wianamatta shale geology. Luddenham soil landscape also associated with Wianamatta Group sediments, is found along the ridges and rolling hills of Winston Hills and Baulkham Hills extending west to Marayong in Blacktown.

Some igneous intrusions exist within the area at Dural and Maroota providing rich biodiversity around these areas.

Woodlands soil landscape is found on broad benches and drainage lines on beds of the Mittagong formation, such as along the middle reaches of Little Cattai Creek. The South Creek soil landscape is associated with Quaternary alluvial deposits in the floodplains of Caddies Creek, Smalls Creek and Killarney Chain of Ponds at Box Hill. The Freemans Reach soil landscape is also associated with Quaternary alluvial deposits. This soil landscape is found along the floodplain of the Hawkesbury River and tributaries with occurrences including Broadwater Swamp, Doyles Swamp and Lambs Creek.

As the two bio-regions of the Cumberland Plain and the Hornsby Plateau meet within the Shire, the large transition areas between the two provide for the richest biodiversity within a local government area of the Sydney basin.

Climate

The Hills Shire is entirely within a temperate climate zone which results in the climate being generally mild and mostly free from extremes of heat and cold.

The following charts show:

 The average monthly temperature for all years of data since 1881, as recorded at the Western Sydney University, Richmond.

 The average monthly rainfall from 1981 to 2010, as recorded at the Western Sydney University, Richmond.

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Land Use

The Hills Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2019 is the principal planning instrument affecting land use within the Shire. The Plan, although prepared by Council, was vetted by the NSW State Government to ensure consistency with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and State Environmental Planning Policies before being gazetted by the Minister.

The purpose of the LEP is to define what purpose land may be used for. The LEP consists of a written statement and a number of maps.

The written LEP statement includes the legal definitions of a wide range of land use activities and land use tables divided into different zones to describe what uses are permissible or prohibited under the given zones. The plan also contains a number of special provisions to address such issues as heritage conservation, subdivision and land acquisition. The zoning map then depicts graphically the application of the various zones to specific areas of land.

In general terms, the LEP is used by Council to determine if a land use or activity is permissible on any given property. The LEP expresses Council's broad land use strategy for the Shire.

State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (the Codes SEPP) specifies exempt and complying development under that Policy. The Codes SEPP has state-wide application and commenced on 27 February 2009.

Details on all land use zonings, including maps and permissible activities, are available on Council’s website at www.thehills.nsw.gov.au.

Land Use Zone - The Hills LEP 2012 Area (hA) % of LGA

B1 Neighbourhood Centres 10.726 0.028

B2 Local Centres 92.907 0.241

B4 Mixed Use 69.458 0.180

B5 Business Development 47.055 0.122

B6 Enterprise Corridors 112.679 0.292

B7 Business Parks 269.793 0.699

E1 National Parks and Nature Reserves 577.232 1.495

E2 Environmental Conservation 759.065 1.966

E3 Environmental Management 38.776 0.100

E4 Environmental Living 671.582 1.740

IN1 General Industrial 15.569 0.040

IN2 Light Industrial 147.178 0.381

R1 General Residential 102.363 0.265

R2 Low Density Residential 4,246.297 10.999

R3 Medium Density Residential 1,198.819 3.105

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R4 High Density Residential 250.830 0.650

RE1 Public Recreation 1,055.355 2.734

RE2 Private Recreation 321.696 0.833

RU1 Primary Production 1,139.015 2.950

RU 2 Rural Landscape 18,168.245 47.062

RU3 Forestry 45.329 0.117

RU6 Transition 8,251.887 21.375

SP2 Infrastructure 198.896 0.515

SP2 Infrastructure (Drainage) 284.635 0.737

SP3 Tourist 7.456 0.019

W2 Recreational Waterways 521.744 1.352

Population and People

1. Population Size

Based on the new Council boundaries, the population of The Hills Shire was estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics at the 2016 Census to be 156,066.

This was estimated to grow to approximately 172,473 in 2018 and represented an average annual increase in population of approximately 4,960.

The Shire is still experiencing a period of rapid growth towards an expected total population of 250,971 by 2036.

2. Population Projections

Details of the forecast growth in the population, number of households and average household size are included in the graph below. The Shire’s projected population of 250,971 by 2036 represents an increase of 45% over the current population.

This rapid growth is due to new land releases in the Balmoral Road and Box Hill North areas and the North Kellyville and Box Hill precincts within the North West Growth Centre, as well as a number of potential urban activation precincts within existing urban residential areas, primarily within the Sydney Metro Northwest station precincts. The existing urban areas of the Shire are also experiencing growth as medium and high density developments replace single stand-alone houses around town centres and transport hubs.

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3. Age Profile

Age structure - service age groups (based on 2016 Census)

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4. Country of Birth

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5. Subpopulation

Transport Routes and Facilities

The Hills Shire is serviced by The Hills M2 Motorway, M7 Motorway, Old Windsor Road, Windsor Road and numerous other arterial, sub-arterial and local road links. Construction of the NorthConnex project, an underground road tunnel linking the M2 at West Pennant Hills and the M1 at Wahroonga, commenced in early 2015, and is planned for completion in 2020.

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In the northern part of the Shire there are only two arterial roads running north/south - Wisemans Ferry Road along the western part of the Shire, and Old Northern Road along the eastern part. From north of Castle Hill, Old Northern Road also largely forms the boundary between The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire LGAs.

There are only four east/west roads in the middle to northern area of the Shire being Pitt Town Road, Cattai Ridge Road, Cliftonville Road and Sackville Ferry Road.

Prior to the opening of the Sydney Metro Northwest in May 2019 public transport within the Shire was limited to bus services on various routes that serve the main residential and commercial areas. However regional bus services also provide access to major centres including Parramatta, Hornsby, Macquarie Park, North Sydney, Blacktown and the City.

The North West T-Way provides bus services between the Rouse Hill Regional Centre and Parramatta. The T-Way includes a dedicated bus only roadway running adjacent to Old Windsor Road and Windsor Road from Rouse Hill to Northmead before heading to Westmead Hospital and then on to Parramatta.

The Sydney Metro Northwest, a metro style heavy rail line that was completed in May 2019, provides a shuttle service between Tallawong station (within the Blacktown City LGA) and Chatswood station via the original Epping to Chatswood rail line. A total of six stations are within The Hills Shire including Rouse Hill, Kellyville, Bella Vista, Norwest, Hills Showground and Castle Hill. Cherrybrook station within the Hornsby Shire LGA is located on Castle Hill Road which forms the boundary with The Hills Shire LGA.

Construction is well underway to extend the Sydney Metro from Chatswood to the Sydney CBD through a second harbour crossing before connecting to the current Bankstown (T3) line. That project is expected to be completed in 2024.

Economy and Industry

The Hills Shire contains a wide variety of industry types ranging from light industry and warehousing to agricultural industries such as wholesale nurseries and market gardens.

The Shire is also home to the Norwest Business Park that currently employs over 29,300 people, as well as major retail centres at Castle Hill, Rouse Hill, Baulkham Hills, Winston Hills and Round Corner Dural.

There are currently three main industrial areas within the Shire located at Castle Hill, Rouse Hill and Winston Hills. They range in size with the largest at Castle Hill containing approximately 850 premises to Winston Hills which contains 10 premises. In addition, the industrial zone at Rouse Hill is currently under development at this time and is likely to provide for industry growth into the future. A further industrial area is planned for the Box Hill Release Area. All of these areas are zoned for light industry and there are no areas within the Shire zoned for heavy industry.

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Agricultural industries are scattered throughout much of the Shire’s rural land. However, with urban expansion to the north-west, it is gradually shrinking to the northern areas of the Shire.

In total it is estimated that 86,168 people are currently employed within The Hills Shire, 19.5 percent of which are employed in the retail industry.

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Annexure B – Hazards and Risks Summary

A Local Emergency Risk Management (ERM) Study has been undertaken by The Hills Shire Local Emergency Management Committee identifying the following hazards as having risk of causing loss of life, property, utilities, services and/or the community’s ability to function within its normal capacity. These hazards have been identified as having the potential to create an emergency.

The Hills Shire Emergency Risk Management Study, which was adopted by the Committee at its meeting on 9 March 2015, should be referenced to identify the complete list of consequences and risk descriptions. An additional hazard relating to a rail transport emergency has now been included to reflect the opening of the Sydney Metro Northwest in May 2019.

Hazard Risk Description Likelihood

Rating

Consequence

Rating Risk Level Risk Priority

Combat / Responsible Agency Agricultural

Disease (Animal/Plant)

An agriculture/horticulture incident that results, or has potential to result, in the spread of a communicable disease or infestation.

Possible Moderate High High

Department of Primary

Industries

Bridge Collapse

Failure of a major bridge structure with or without warning owing to structural failure or as a result of external/internal events or other hazards/incidents.

Unlikely Major High High LEOCON

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Rating

Consequence

Combat / Responsible Agency

Building Collapse

Collapse of building owing to structural failure or impact from external/internal event of other hazards/incidents.

Unlikely Major High High

FRNSW (USAR) SEOCON

Communicable Disease

(Human)

Pandemic illness that affects, or has potential to affect, large portions of the human or animal population.

Possible Major Extreme Extreme NSW Health

Dam Failure A dam is compromised that results in

localised or widespread flooding. Unlikely Major High High

Dam Owners NSW SES

Earthquake

Earthquake of significant strength that results in localised or widespread damage.

Rare Catastrophic High High EOCON

Fire (Bush or Grass)

Major fires in areas of bush or

grasslands. Likely Major Extreme Extreme

NSW RFS FRNSW

Fire (Industrial)

Serious industrial fire in office

complexes and/or warehouses within industrial estates.

Possible Moderate High High

FRNSW NSW RFS

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Rating

Consequence

Combat / Responsible Agency Fire

(Commercial)

Serious commercial fires in shopping centres, aged persons units, nursing homes and hospitals.

Possible Major Extreme Extreme

FRNSW NSW RFS

Fire (Residential) Serious residential fire in medium/high

rise apartments. Possible Major Extreme Extreme

FRNSW NSW RFS

Flood (Flash)

Heavy rainfall causes excessive

localised flooding with minimal warning time.

Possible Major Extreme Extreme NSW SES

Flood (Riverine)

River flows exceed the capacity of normal river systems resulting in flood waters escaping and inundating river plains.

Possible Major Extreme Extreme NSW SES

Hazardous Release

Hazardous material released as a result

of an incident or accident. Unlikely Moderate Moderate Medium FRNSW

Heatwave

A sequence of abnormally hot conditions having the potential to affect a

community adversely.

Almost

Certain Major Extreme Extreme SEOCON

Landslip Landslip/landslide resulting in localised

or widespread damage. Unlikely Major High High EOCON

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Rating

Consequence

Combat / Responsible Agency

Storm

Severe storm with accompanying lightning, hail, wind, and/or rain that causes severe damage and/or localised flooding (includes tornado).

Likely Moderate High High NSW SES

Transport

Emergency (Air)

Aircraft crashes in LGA resulting in large number of fatalities, injuries and/or damage to property.

Unlikely Catastrophic Extreme Extreme EOCON

Transport Emergency (Road)

A major vehicle accident that disrupts one or more major transport routes that can result in risk to people delayed by traffic congestion, restrict supply routes and/or protracted loss of access to or from the area.

Possible Major Extreme Extreme EOCON

Transport Emergency (Rail)

A major rail accident that disrupts the Sydney Metro Northwest that can result in risk to passengers trapped along the rail corridor on viaducts, cuttings or in tunnels and/or protracted loss of access to or from the area.

Unlikely Major Extreme Extreme EOCON

Transport Emergency (Sea)

A major accident that results in environmental damage and major recovery operation.

Unlikely Major High High EOCON

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Rating

Consequence

Combat / Responsible Agency Tsunami

A tsunami wave of magnitude that presents a risk to land and marine elements.

Rare Moderate Moderate High NSW SES

Utilities Failure

Major failure of essential utility for

unreasonable periods of time as a result of a natural or man-made occurrence.

Possible Major Extreme Extreme LEOCON

(Monitoring)

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Annexure C – Local Sub Plans, Supporting Plans and Policies

Responsibility for the preparation and maintenance of appropriate sub and supporting plans rest with the relevant Combat Agency Controller or the relevant Functional Area Co- ordinator.

The sub/supporting plans are developed in consultation with The Hills Shire LEMC and the community.

The Plan listed below is supplementary to this EMPLAN. This Plan has been endorsed by the LEMC and is determined as compliant and complimentary to the arrangements listed in this EMPLAN.

This Plan is retained by the LEMO on behalf of the LEMC and public release versions are available on Council’s Website at www.thehills.nsw.gov.au.

Plan/Policy Purpose Combat/

Responsible Agency

The Hills Shire Local Flood Plan

The Plan covers the preparedness measures, the conduct of response operations and the co-ordination of immediate recovery measures for all levels of flooding on the eastern side of the Hawkesbury River and its tributaries within the boundaries of The Hills Shire, other creek systems and overland flooding.

NSW State Emergency Service

In addition to the Local Flood Plan, The Hills Shire Bush Fire Management Committee has developed The Hills Bush Fire Risk Management Plan (BFRMP). The aim of the BFRMP is to minimise the risk of adverse impact of bush fires on life, property and environment. The objectives of the Plan are to:

 Reduce the number of human-induced bush fire ignitions that cause damage to life, property and the environment;

 Manage bush fire fuel load to reduce the rate of spread and intensity of bush fires, while minimising environmental/ecological impacts;

 Reduce the community’s vulnerability to bush fires by improving its preparedness;

 Effectively contain fires with a potential to cause damage to life, property and the environment.

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The BFRMP has been prepared following widespread consultation with the community and key stakeholders including the LEMO. Although not a specific sub/supporting plan of the EMPLAN, it is complementary to the arrangements listed in the EMPLAN.

The Hills Shire Local Emergency Management Plan