All residents from the Bayside emergency pod village have now been relocated, with the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) telling The Echo, ‘[pod manager] Uniting has worked closely with residents to support them to move to alternative accommodation’.
The Bayside pods are among four North Coast temporary housing villages that closed on June 27 – the others being Kingscliff, Evans Head, and Pottsville pod villages.
RA confirmed that all residents moved out on June 25.
In the aftermath of the 2022 floods, RA established 11 temporary housing villages across the Northern Rivers on council and private land.
RA previously told The Echo there was a mistake where Bayside pod residents were asked to leave a week earlier, and assured them it would remain at the June 27 deadline.
Yet residents told The Echo last week that despite that promise from RA, pod managers Uniting were still pushing residents to move a week earlier than agreed.
When asked if correct, RA replied, ‘We confirm the closing date for Bayside was always June 27’.
Questions remain
Questions to RA, Lismore MP Janelle Saffin (NSW Labor) and Byron Council are yet to be answered around the future of the site or the pods.
The land is co-owned by developers Clarence Property and Byron Council. Council are pushing to retain the pods for emergency accommodation.
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