Sodden Thirroul residents believe proposed developments will only exacerbate the suburb's flooding problems if they go ahead.
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And one resident of 22 years is so fed up with more houses being built that she's moving.
"I don't think there's anything that can be done about it, except not build houses over a creek," said the resident whose house has been impacted by heavy rain six times.
The woman, who wished not to be named, said council had advised them flooding from Hewitts Creek at the back of their property was their responsibility as land owners.
"It makes me way too angry to process the whole thing, yet you can put a development to build on top of the creek," she said.
On March 26 a fierce storm saw the residential creek rise by two metres, according to Manly Hydraulics Laboratory data, and rage like a river around homes on Lachlan Street.
Other roaring waterways through the suburb saw large amount of water in various streets.
One area behind several homes on Lawrence Hargrave Drive, where a land-owner has been trying to put a house, looked like a lake.
"This low-lying site is heavily flood prone and therefore better left as nature intended it, undeveloped, rather than as a housing block," said Annette Jones, who represents the residents against development in problem areas.
She said a future house at 415 Lawrence Hargrave Drive may be designed not to flood, but whoever lives there "will need a boat" to get in and out, while access to other surrounding homes would be impinged.
Owner of the site, Mata Mati Pty Ltd, has previously had a development application for a dwelling on the land refused by Wollongong City Council on flood-related grounds but took the matter to the NSW Land and Environment Court (LEC).
Eventually approval was granted for a "building envelope", with the owner to return Hewitts Creek to the course it saw before it was straightened in the 1950's.
Other areas where water covered roads and rose to people's front doors was along The Esplanade, Bath and Macauley streets, where residents took it upon themselves to wade through flood water to unblock drains.
Ms Jones said there was strong opposition from the community around the Thirroul Plaza development, with revised plans back on exhibition with council for a fourth time, and how it will impact flooding in severe weather.
"They're going to build a great big hull and we're not 100 per cent sure about where the water is going to go," she said.
"It is going to bank up and it may end up flooding the underground car park ... while it's so close to the railway line, it's a major concern."
Like the previous mentioned plans, developers for The Plaza have taken their proposal to the LEC after council knocked back previous applications.
The court granted permission for revisions to go back on public exhibition, ahead of a July 25-28 hearing.
Wollongong City Council has engaged Marsden's Law Group to defend the deemed refusal of the plaza application, while the court has received a copy of all public submissions from the previous exhibitions.
"Council will also be collecting and forwarding a copy to the court of any submissions received from the current round of exhibition," a council spokeswoman said.
"Those who wish to address the court can register to speak."
Ms Jones said development in problematic areas like flood zones was a "real worry", but acknowledged it's now out of the hands of council and is with the State Government.
"The rules have changed and they are definitely for developers not the community," she said.
Member for Keira, Ryan Park, said the court needs to take into consideration the legitimate concerns of councils, residents and expert advice considering the history of flooding in the region.
"Whilst we have been spared the latest devastating flooding we are seeing on the North Coast, experience tells us that any future developments must take into consideration the flood risk both in terms of the development itself and the impact it has on surrounding areas," Mr Park said.
"The 1998 floods may seem like a lifetime away but there were important lessons to come out of that disaster in terms of the need to ensure flood risks are managed properly.
"A changing climate means unfortunately these extreme weather events are likely to be more frequent and that is something that developers need to acknowledge and prepare for."
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