Ararat Rural City Council is preparing for a new chapter in residential recuperation efforts as it nears six months since the Pomonal bushfire.

Council has secured a Bushfire Hazard Landscape Assessment for the Pomonal area, and has now issued a call-out for qualified bushfire consultants.

Specialists are invited to register their interest by tender in joining a coterie of ‘preferred contractors’, which will form a panel that will serve as an easily-accessed resource for Pomonal residents seeking fire risk assessment to assist in rebuilding homes.

Community members will be able to inform council of their preferred consultant from the assembled panel, and council will engage the contractor, streamlining the process towards rebuilding homes for fire-affected residents.

Ararat Rural City Council chief executive Tim Harrison said following the February bushfires, council recognised that a key requirement for rebuilding would be bushfire assessments.

“Council sought, and was successful in applying for, State Government funding to assist with bushfire assessments required for rebuilding homes,” he said.

“This service arrives in conjunction with other measures to aid the rebuilding process, such as waiving council planning and building fees and working with other statutory referral agencies to reduce red tape, allowing the Pomonal community to rebuild quickly and safely.”

Interested consultants can engage in the tender process by visiting app.eprocure.com.au/ararat/home/public.

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