Demolition threats

Council compliance staff again attack Main Arm community without councillor knowledge

Home demolition orders have been placed on a small community of long-term locals in Upper Main Arm after Council compliance raided their shared multiple occupancy (MO).

Greens Mayor, Sarah Ndiaye, and councillors contacted by The Echo were unaware of the orders made by staff, which could see around 30 families, including children, lose everything.

The shocked and horrified residents say compliance officer Dylan Cook’s February 5 letter provided contacts for real estate agents to help them find alternative accommodation after they lost their homes and livelihoods.

While Cook gave them less than two weeks to respond, his boss, Shannon Burt, Director Sustainable Environment and Economy, told The Echo that residents will be now given ‘12 months or longer’ to follow a required planning pathway, or ‘to find alternate lawful accommodation’.

An admin fee of $414 will be charged for the notice, says Cook, and if the order is issued, a further $650 will be charged.

Cook told residents via email that, ‘You will need to contact a town planner and conduct an investigation as to what dwellings require approval’.

Koohinur Pty Ltd is an MO located next to the community hall, and like all residents in the area, its residents suffered enormously from the 2022 floods and landslides.

One resident described potentially losing their home as a ‘vicious attack’ by staff which is severely impacting their mental health.

‘I am not sleeping properly, and cried for days after’, they said, adding, ‘There is a resident who could be potentially suicidal over this issue’. 

‘There’s elderly residents here who have been here for decades and have limited funds. They are without options. Why hasn’t this been considered by staff? This issue needs to be humanised’.

Unaware mayor

The Echo asked Mayor Ndiaye: ‘Why have councillors, of which you have been a part of for eight years, not provided any leadership or reform when it comes to guiding staff with community expectations around demolition orders? Will there be some leadership now?’

While the question was provided to her on Friday, she replied that she didn’t have enough time to be across the topic, and would need more time to reply.

Procedural fairness?

The Echo asked executive staff how placing demolition orders on an entire community without warning adheres to procedural fairness.

Shannon Burt, Director Sustainable Environment and Economy told The Echo, ‘There is a documented history of communication with the landowners of this property since July 2024, following complaints about a range of matters such as unauthorised construction, noise and an on-site sewerage management system’.

While she says, ‘Council staff are legally obligated to investigate complaints’, The Echo queried this, given there is flexibility within the NSW planning act that governs compliance.

She said, ‘Once a complaint is lodged and Council is aware of unauthorised development or activity, we have legal obligations as a regulatory authority to act, taking into consideration the health and safety of the occupants and addressing risk to the safety and health of people and the environment’.

She continued, ‘Aware of the housing crisis, staff have been working with the owner of the property to find resolutions to problems’.

This claim has been rejected by residents, and The Echo queried the statement, given there is no one ‘owner’ on a shared multiple occupancy; it is managed by directors of a company.

Ms Burt also said, ‘Following delays, Council has issued a Notice of Proposed Order. Should there be no action Council will issue a final order where owners will have a compliance period of 12 months or longer, to give sufficient time to either comply with the required planning pathway or for the owners/occupants to find alternate lawful accommodation’.

Threat to everyone

Longtime local, Charlie Boyle, lives on the Kohinur MO, and rejects the claims of ‘delays’ in replying to staff, as claimed by Ms Burt. 

He says, ‘Two landowners were sent detailed letters with pathways for fixing their issues six months ago. The demolition order – for the entire community – came out of nowhere on February 5’.

‘How is Council allocating liability?’ He asked. ‘The demolition letter to the statutory company that manages the MO claims they are liable for actions of individuals who hold exclusive management zones (i.e. shares).

‘As a company, we are unqualified to police compliance matters on behalf of Council.

‘These orders by Council are a threat to everybody in the community, given the number of unapproved dwellings in the north coast’.

Housing crisis

A spokesperson for the Main Arm Rural Residents Association (MARRA) told The Echo, ‘The Greens-led Council is not solving the housing crisis. MARRA is also concerned that Council has yet again singled out Upper Main Arm to be the victims of its failed housing policies. The current action may be the beginning of a fourth wave of Council’s push for gentrification of Main Arm’. 

‘Considering the housing crisis and that half the Shire’s dwellings are probably non-conforming in some way, it is time Council looked at itself first and reviewed its building and compliance regulations and procedures.  

‘There needs to be an immediate amnesty on demolition and urgent attention to this review’, they said. 

See this week’s Editorial on the subject.