Plans underway for pod evictions

The Bayside pods at  Brunswick Heads are among four North Coast temporary housing villages that will close on June 27.

Pod managers NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA), said in a statement that Kingscliff, Evans Head, and Pottsville pod villages will also close.

In the aftermath of the 2022 floods, RA established 11 temporary housing villages across the Northern Rivers on council and private land.

Unanswered questions

NSW Minister for Recovery, Janelle Saffin told The Echo, ‘My promise to [those impacted] is that we’ve got RA and Homes NSW working on a plan to get everyone the stable, long-term housing that they need and deserve.’

While that plan is underway, many questions put to her office and RA remain unanswered, including the total number of people impacted, and what would happen if the part-landowner of the Bayside land, Clarence Property, refused to extend the lease. 

Council is also part-owner of the land, which was pegged as open space for the suburb.

Council staff did not reply to The Echo around the future of the land it part-owns with Clarence Property, and referred the question to RA. Clarence Property did not reply to The Echo by deadline.

The Echo also asked RA: ‘Have Clarence Property requested that they purchase the pods after eviction? ‘If not, what will happen with the pods? Will they be sold or if not moved where? Is it correct that each pod cost taxpayers $800,000 on average?’

These questions were also put to the office of NSW Labor Minister for Recovery, Janelle Saffin, but there was no reply.

The Echo understands that at the Bayside pods, around 20 people are impacted. 

Expired fed funding

The RA letter to the Bayside pod residents implied the closure was owing to an end to Australian federal funding, along with other reasons, such as land leases expiring.

The Echo asked local Labor MP, Justine Elliot, whether she lobbied for the grant to continue.

While she did not say, Mrs Elliot said, ‘The federal and state Labor governments have been providing support and funding for our community which was devastated by the floods, including funding for the pod villages’. 

‘RA is working with Community Housing Providers (CPH) to find new accommodation for the residents’, she said. 

An RA spokesperson said, ‘We know that the people in the villages still need some assistance, which is why we are working with Homes NSW on a plan to find suitable housing options for them to make sure their needs are met’.

‘All residents will be helped to find stable long-term accommodation either through the private rental market, social housing or aged care.

 ‘The sites were located on vacant blocks owned by state or local government entities or private landowners and were leased for a period of two to three years.

‘The Reconstruction Authority is also working with Homes NSW to see if operation of the villages can be extended for a further period.

‘This is happening because we want to make sure that people impacted by the floods get the housing they need while we work on building more social and affordable housing.

‘The villages were always intended to be temporary to support flood-impacted residents get their lives back on track. The first village to cease operating was the Wollongbar Temporary Housing Village in March this year’. 

NSW Labor Minister for Recovery, Janelle Saffin, told The Echo, ‘I know that it’s been really tough for many of our people in the temporary housing villages since the floods. I want them to know that they’re not going to be forgotten’.

Mayor wants pods

Meanwhile, Byron Shire Mayor Sarah Ndiaye says she will move a mayoral minute at the next Council meeting, calling for the pods to be retained by Council.

Given the pods are located on shared land, she said, ‘If possible, the nine pods on Council land in Brunswick Heads could remain in place, and the pods on Clarence Property land could be relocated on to Council land to provide ongoing emergency housing’.