A PETITION by Penshurst residents to have the local Bushfire Place of Last Resort (BPLR) moved to the Penshurst Memorial Hall has been turned down by the Southern Grampians Shire Council (SGSC) at last week’s meeting.

The Penshurst Progress Association submitted the petition on January 28 last year, signed by 106 individuals and requesting a change to the BPLR from its current location at 71 Bell Street to the Penshurst Memorial Hall located at 21 Martin Street.

In submitting a recommendation to the council, SGSC Wellbeing, Planning and Regulation director, Rory Neeson, said the council acknowledged the need for a suitable location and pledged to “work with the community” but could not endorse the proposed move.

“In response to this petition, several actions have been taken including an inspection of the proposed location by the CFA with support from the municipal emergency management planning committee as part of the reviewing of that location,” he said.

“There are some issues that are identified with that proposed change and some of these include budget with moving there because (there) would be significant work required to bring the hall up to the appropriate standard to be that location.”

Mr Neeson also pointed out the hall was not owned by the Shire but by the State Government, but all upgrade costs would be borne by them.

This would include removing vegetation and trees around the building, covering gutters and gaps with fire-safe mesh, installing a better air ventilation system, covering floating blue glass windows with fire safety mesh, supplying a water tank and firefighting hose, and providing 24/7 access to the hall.

In the ensuing discussion, Cr Greg McAdam said he was glad the process of investigation meant the council had “found out exactly what it involved” but thought “possibly there are other alternatives other than the hall”.

“Just as an example, can you imagine the uproar if we remove one of those big old oak trees in front of the Penshurst Hall?” he asked.

“I just don’t see that happening.”

Cr Katrina Rainsford acknowledged “there’s been a large number of the community that signed a petition” and added “it’s great that people are participating in the process of governance this way”, underlining the responsibility of council to respond transparently about the specifications for an adequate BPLR.

“We need to … clearly explain why we can’t support their application,” she said.

“We don’t want to use the place of last resort, that we’ve got one just in case and it’s a matter of requirement for our health and well-being and safety plan to do with emergency management. So that’s why we have to do it and disagree with the wishes of the community.”

Cr Rainsford said there was still a silver lining to the outcome.

“But we’ve got a very good building condition report now on the Penshurst Hall,” she said.

“So there’s an opportunity for the community to look at what we can do in the future there.”

Following the meeting, a representative from the Penshurst Progress Association told The Spectator the issue was “very important to the town” and was expecting further “discussions with the council” to come to a solution.

Section 66 of the Local Government Act 2020 empowers a council to establish, maintain, and manage a BPLR in its municipal district, including the power to approve or deny its relocation within the municipal district.

Mr Neeson emphasised the Shire’s responsibility in “making sure we continue to work with the community around educating around what the place of last resort actually is to help better support them in the in the chance of a fire”.

Council passed the resolution unanimously.