Following a number of community consultations, the Department of Premier and Cabinet have released their Future of Yarloop summary report, which announced that “in response to community wishes, there will be a Yarloop going forward,” and that the Shire of Harvey and State Government agencies would support the community in planning its future.
The significant damage to Yarloop occurred in a bushfire starting on January 6 this year.
The fire destroyed 166 properties in Yarloop, killed two residents, and caused further damage over a 69,000ha area in the Shires of Harvey and Waroona.
The report was a summary of more than 180 interviews with a pre-set list of questions held as part of the community consultation process.
The community’s intentions, the report found, was to rebuild their town in the hope of salvaging their “quiet, country lifestyles”.
Before the fire, 89% of property owners and tenants were planning to stay in Yarloop for the foreseeable future; after the fire, this figure dropped to 63%.
A much higher proportion of property owners and tenants whose homes survived wanted to stay (93%), while less than 50% of property owners and tenants whose homes were damaged planned to rebuild.
Only 6% of participants indicated they would leave Yarloop if businesses and services did not re-open in the town.
The report used statistical averages to ensure the report represented ‘typical’ participants: those who were owners or occupiers, who had lived in the town for more than 10 years; those who liked Yarloop because it was “in the country”, “handy to larger towns”, “a quiet spot” and the fact it was a “historic town”; those who had planned to stay in Yarloop in the near or foreseeable future before the fire; and households comprising of two adults, one primary school aged child or younger and one high school aged child.
The Shire of Harvey and the state government will use the report to develop broad options for the future of Yarloop, and share these options with the community at a public meeting.
The proposed options will be shared with the community at a public meeting on Wednesday 17 August at the Harvey Recreation and Cultural Centre at 5.30pm.