A group of Merewether residents who face their properties being reclassified as flood-affected say they are extremely disappointed by what they call a "lack of consultation" on the proposed classification.
John Parade residents received notice in July that City of Newcastle's draft Throsby, Styx and Cottage Creek Flood Study had identified their properties as "being flood affected".
The matter will be voted on at the December 12 Newcastle council meeting. City of Newcastle has acknowledged flood modelling is a "complicated process", particularly for newly-classified properties, so Newcastle councillors will be asked to consider a new proposal that doesn't include several streets, including John Parade.
Maps included in the draft flood study show a peak flood depth on John Parade of 0.3-0.5 metres on the road.
John Parade resident Don McLachlan, who has a degree in water engineering, said he believed this was caused by City of Newcastle's construction of the Bathers Way as it slopes towards the road, rather than towards the beach.
The council also said that "stormwater assets of less than 750mm are not included in the flood model", but Mr McLachlan said there were drop pits on John Parade, either side of the Coane Street intersection, which are capable of a combined discharge of more than 1,000 litres per second, which would adequately drain any impoundment on the road, but have not been taken into consideration.
Mr McLachlan said residents were concerned about the impact of the reclassification on insurance premiums and land value.
"Everyone on the street would be burdened," he said.
"I know people might say 'oh too bad for those richie riches on John Parade', but that's not right, there are unit holders and an aged care home.
"Plus we've worked hard to own what we've got and this is a consequence of bad infrastructure design by council."
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said "insurance companies do not set their premiums based off a PMF (probable maximum flood), nor are property values impacted by them".
"Insurance companies set their premiums based off the current risk to property, not the risk of a one in a 10,000 year flood event," the spokesperson said.
Mr McLachlan said not everyone on John Parade received the notice and the residents asked the council for an on-site meeting, to no avail. They also made submissions during a recent public exhibition.
"We request that further consultation be undertaken prior to any final decision," Mr McLachlan said.
"Our requests for further consultation have been totally ignored."
He said he reached out to several Newcastle councillors, and received a response from Ward 2 Liberal councillor Jenny Barrie.
Cr Barrie said she had passed on the resident concerns to City of Newcastle staff and would "continue to advocate for those who have not been granted an on-site meeting since last August when the submissions were sent in for the residents to 'Have Your Say'".
The council said the flood study was reviewed due to NSW legislative changes following the Lismore floods which meant every street in Newcastle must be modelled for a probable maximum flood event.
"How the PMF itself is calculated was revised in 2019 when the Federal Government changed the guidelines for estimating rainfall and runoff to better account for improved knowledge about climate change and how its effecting rainfall and sea levels," the City of Newcastle spokesperson said.
"This is one of the reasons that there are now more homes across the LGA included in the 2023 PMF than in 2008 when the last local flood study was undertaken.
"The modelling underpinning the PMF has been peer reviewed and is supported by the Department of Planning and Environment.
"We understand however that flood modelling is a complicated process, particularly for those whose properties have not previously been identified as being in a flood zone.
"For that reason, council will be asked Tuesday evening to consider adopting a new PMF that doesn't include several streets, including John Parade.
"We will over the coming months work with these residents to resolve resident concerns and go from there."
