Planning application...satisfying the bushfire management requirements...

You know how we mentioned we had some queries around the Bushfire Hazard Management & Onsite Wastewater reports? Well, here's the first of those issues...
The Fire Expert has come back and said that unless an 8 metre fire truck can do a three-point-turn so that it can access the fire tanks, then we won't get approval to even submit the application.
Oh, and did we mention that a fire truck would actually only attend at the property if it was a house fire, and not a bush fire? And how what would be the likelihood we will be able to set a concrete house on fire? Even with our dubious culinary skills?
Poor Neal-the-Architect was one fire truck away from opening a vein.
Initially, thought was given to cutting a turning road across from the build site where an old logging trail can still be made out through the undergrowth.
Needless to say, we weren't overly fond of the idea of spending money building another road for the express purpose of allowing a fire truck to turn around on the remotest of occasions.
So we had another look at the Bushfire report.
Here is a clipping from the report. The yellow outline shows the footprint of the house. The red outline shows the extent of land that needs to be cleared in order to satisfy the Fire Expert.

Then we had another look at the site.

Here is a 'photo-montage' Viktoria took on site during her recent trip down to Tassie about a month ago:

As the distance from the edge of the red outline is about 10 metres from the cliff edge, and as we have cleared enough trees, we wondered whether it would be possible to shuffle the house site down towards the cliff those extra 10 metres or so. 

In theory, that should leave heaps of room at the top of the house to landscape a suitable turning circle (in anticipation of a visit from a fire truck). And we are slightly less reluctant to dig around the existing site, than cut down even more trees & excavate somewhere else.

Armed with this, Neal has gone  back into battle.

Meanwhile we have honed our strategy on another front, with an extensive "To Do" list to get our current home ready to go on the market. Little wars will be waged while still working 12 hour days, 5 days a week.

V&A