A request to extend temporary ‘pod’ housing in Byron Shire has been raised by the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA), Byron Shire Council’s General Manager, Mark Arnold, has confirmed.
The Echo asked Council staff if Byron Shire Council, like Tweed Shire Council, had also been approached by the Reconstruction Authority for an extension for an additional two years at the pod sites in the Byron Shire.
One Byron Shire ‘pod’ is located at the entrance to Mullumbimby, and there are two in Brunswick Heads.
On May 17, 2022, The Echo online reported then-Minister for Flood Recovery, Steph Cooke, as saying, ‘we expect it will be used for up to two years’.
GM Arnold told The Echo, ‘Council receives regular correspondence from the Reconstruction Authority and an extension of temporary housing sites has been raised’.
‘This matter will be presented to the elected Council for a decision following discussions with the Reconstruction Authority’.
As reported in The Echo online last week, Tweed Shire Council received a letter from NSWRA advising it ‘has extended Crown Lands-owned sites, including Pottsville, and is now planning to commence arrangements to extend all remaining sites’.
In-principle support was sought from Tweed Shire Council to extend the Kingscliff site by an additional two years to June 2027.
Ratepayers’ call to defer decision
But Kingscliff Ratepayers and Progress Association (KRPA) asked Tweed Council to defer the decision regarding the temporary housing site on Elrond Drive, Kingscliff, because they are ‘seeking an update on the operation and future of the site, particularly in relation to the key matters pertaining to the temporary flood accommodation’.
The KRPA said they are seeking information on: ‘the success of the program to date in not only providing temporary accommodation, but support in facilitating permanent rehousing for flood-affected residents; the areas from which the flood-affected residents in the accommodation are from – commitments were made that local residents would be prioritised (i.e. postcode 2487 and Chinderah), then the wider Tweed Shire, then from outside the Shire,’ and, ‘confirmation that the site will be returned to community green space/public reserve at the conclusion of the agreed time frame – June 2024.’
The KRPA also highlighted that the area is flood-prone and was underwater during the 2022 floods.
The Echo asked the NSW Reconstruction Authority for the answers to the KRPA questions.
NSW Reconstruction Authority declines to provide KRPA answers
A spokesperson from the NSW Reconstruction Authority said, ‘The RA is working with Tweed Shire Council as the landowner on plans for the Elrond Drive temporary housing village’.
‘Decisions on the future of the site will be made in consultation with Council and stakeholders’.
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