The Southern Cross University Temporary Housing village is only weeks away from being a home for over a hundred people and families.

The Lismore App visited the site to get a first-hand view of what living will be like in the new precinct for those that have suffered so much in the last six months.

There are 52 dwellings on site compromising various configurations from Studios (1-2 people), 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom modular homes with 10 beds that would suit a family of 12 or 13!

No, that is not a typo. The large family modular home or pod has 3 x three-bed bunk rooms and one double bed leading to the bathroom plus two lounges, two TV's, a washing machine, dryer and a smart-looking kitchen. There are also TV outlets in all bedrooms if a family wanted to put an extra tv into a bedroom.

15% of the modules built will have ‘Accessible’ requirements (people with mobility impairments).

Each pod has air conditioning for the hot summer days ahead and a large water heater that would be the envy of most houses plus there will be 24-hour security.

The new pods are built by local builder Bennet Construction after being prefabricated by Hutchinson Builders, a company from Toowoomba. The grey modules are old NSW school demountables refurbished into Studio units by inmates at Cessnock, Goulburn and Wellington Correctional facilities.

They are certainly impressive compared to the first Mindaroo shipping container PODS that were first built in Wollongbar, which now has a combination of Hutchinson, CSI and Mindaroo PODS. Not that they were poor as they provided so many people with a place to call home while they worked out what the next steps of their life would be.

You can liken the Hutchinson pods to a caravan park cabin. They are smart, modern and well laid out and will make a wonderful home for its new residents by handover time which is expected to be at the end of September.

While the POD building is complete, the finishing touches to the community paving, landscaping and the lower carpark will complete the new temporary housing village.

It's hard to not feel optimistic about life at the SCU East Lismore temporary housing village.

The problem for David Witherdin and his team at the NRRC (Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation), PW (Public Works), the State Government and Lismore City Council is the lack of immediate sites near Lismore to house the other 1500 people desperate for somewhere to live. Hepburn Park was the best option but met with community backlash.

A Public Works spokesperson did say that two further sites have recently been identified for 'investigation of suitability'. The design and building process from beginning to end, depending on available infrastructure, is approximately 16 weeks so the likelihood of a new temporary housing village being built before Christmas 2022 is looking unlikely.

Pottsville & Evans Head sites are being established as caravan park sites with the spokesperson saying that a further three POD villages are scheduled for handover in September.