In good news for builders, the State Government has removed nearly 16,000 urban lots from bushfire prone areas (BPAs) in a move that could reduce the costs of new homes in affected areas by a combined $47 million.

This was the fifth round of reviews, which aim to account for the latest developments and changes in environment, since the BPAs were first introduced after the Royal Commission into the Black Saturday bushfires.

The removed lots come from 25 different councils across Victoria.

“In total, some 308,000 urban lots have been removed from the BPAs system since they were first introduced,” said Radley de Silva, Chief Executive Officer at Master Builders.

“Master Builders lobbied hard to reduce the massive volume of land across the state that was unfairly burdened by BPA requirements and has been involved in the review process.

“These reviews are helping lower the costs of thousands of homes by thousands of dollars, providing wins for both builders and new home buyers.”

The latest review saw large scale reductions of lots included in the BPA in Geelong and the Yarra Ranges as well as in the Melbourne municipalities of Maroondah and Whittlesea.

Source: Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure

The five reviews have led to a substantial net reduction in urban lots impacted by the BPAs in regional Victoria since 2012, including in: Geelong (down 20,500 lots) and the Surf Coast (down 2700); Ballarat (down 12,000); Warrnambool (down 5700); Bendigo (down 5600 lots); the Latrobe Valley (down 4900); and the Bass Coast (down 4700).

Information regarding lots still included in the BPA maps can be found online at the State Government’s Land Channel website.

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