Penrith Bush Fire Management Committee Bush Fire Risk ...

PENRITH BUSH FIRE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE DRAFT BUSH FIRE RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN
Settlement in Penrith’s rural areas is concentrated in the villages of Mulgoa, Wallacia,
Luddenham, Londonderry and Agnes Banks, or otherwise dispersed across rural properties.
Some closer settlement patterns in the form of rural-residential developments can also be
found at Wallacia (‘Northumberland Green Estate’), Orchard Hills (‘The Vines Estate’), Mt
Vernon and Cranebrook.
(b) Primary Production
Primary industry in Penrith is dominated by mining, horticulture and agriculture. Metal, sand
and gravel are the major extractive industries. Penrith accounts for 80% of all Sydney’s
building sand. Vineyards, turf, market gardening, cut flowers and nurseries are the
predominant horticultural industries. Poultry farms, cattle and horse studs are dominant, and
reflect produce worth $110 million per annum at the farm gate.
The key rural production areas lie to the north and south of the Penrith urban areas. In the
north, activities occur predominantly on 2-4 ha lots around Llandilo, Londonderry and
Berkshire Park. Llandilo has a significant number of properties under agriculture/market
gardens and several poultry farms. North of Londonderry rural uses are divided between
poultry farms, dog kennels, horses and horticulture. At Berkshire Park properties are mostly
under agriculture/market gardens.
Rural use of land in the south is more widespread and diverse, with the majority of the larger
holdings used for pastoral purposes. These occur on the low-lying to undulating land
stretching from Mulgoa to the eastern City boundary, generally south of the water supply
pipeline. There are also a number of poultry farms, mainly concentrated at Luddenham and
Mt Vernon. Other activities include market gardens, horses, nurseries, and poultry.
Council has resolved to undertake a review of its Rural Lands in the coming 12 to 18 months.
A key outcome of this review will be an accurate “snapshot” of the current types and
locations of rural activities and primary production. This information is supplied for the
purposes of this management plan, however it may not be current and should be checked
with the Department of Agriculture.
(c) Timber production
No significant timber production occurs in this area.
(d) Industry
Metal fabrication is the principal manufacturing activity in the City. Other major activities
include packaging, glass products, electronics, animal vaccine production, construction,
machinery distribution, concrete products, specialist manufacturers and wool products. Other
significant activities include the service industry, retail and wholesale sectors, education and
tourism.
Penrith’s industrial zones support a variety of established businesses. The main industrial
zones are located at Emu Plains, North Penrith, South Penrith, St Marys and Dunheved.
Land at the southern edge of Erskine Park (Erskine Park Employment Lands) is zoned for
industrial purposes but has yet to be taken up.
(e) Transport Routes
The area is served by a significant rail and road network. Sydney’s main western rail line is
the focus of Penrith’s core residential areas and carries 70 interurban and 200 suburban
passenger train movements per day, as well as around 82 freight train movements per day.
Penrith LGA contains some 126 km of arterial roads including Great western Highway, M4
Motorway, Elizabeth Drive, Mulgoa Road, Castlereagh Road, The Northern Road and Mamre
Road.
(f) Services infrastructure (gas, electricity etc)
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