Australia’s first indoor snow resort is an appropriate riverbank development at Penrith. Winter Sports World will be calmly evacuated if floodwater does rise, but it won’t increase flood risk to surrounding properties. 

Those findings by our flood mitigation experts are backed by the NSW Government. 

Penrith-based civil engineering and project management consultancy J. Wyndham Prince worked on the Winter Sports World flood risk and mitigation for four years as well as our civil, stormwater and water quality. 

Flood modelling was the last hurdle to overcome before we were granted State Significant Development Application approval on January 11, 2024. 

The executive summary of the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure State Significant Development Assessment document states our proposal is ``consistent with the objects of the EP&A Act, the site is suitable for the proposed use and compatible with the existing and desired future character of the surrounding lands’’. 

``…the proposal would provide a new tourism and recreation opportunity for the Penrith area …[and] is in the public interest ...’’ 

The accompanying Notice of Decision document also notes that Winter Sports World won’t hinder evacuation of the area and ``will not increase the flood impact on neighbouring properties in local flood events (of Peach Tree Creek)’’ and only cause marginal increases (0.1 to 0.15m) in flood depths on neighbouring properties in some regional flood events, but those properties have existing depths of up to 3.5m in those scenarios. 

1. Wyndham Prince director Peter Mehl says Winter Sports World won’t adversely impact flooding on neighbouring properties.

Minor flooding is possible on our site if Peachtree Creek inundates the property or, in the case of a very large flood, water backs up in the river and seeps up from the creek. During extreme flood events such as a Probable Maximum Flood (about a 1 in a 100,000 chance per year) it can inundate the property by several metres. 

However, the site can be evacuated well in advance, posing no risk to overnight visitors, daytrippers or staff. 

Put simply, our Giant Esky is designed with flood resilience to withstand extreme flood events up to the PMF level. 

That means that after the water recedes, we will simply clean the place out, repaint it, do a few minor repairs and reopen. 

The building won’t be destroyed. 

Wyndham Prince’s Peter Mehl says: “Winter Sports World is absolutely the right sort of development on this property.”