The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC) today released the much-anticipated draft strategy, which aims to provide new residential developments for the region.

The Northern Rivers Resilient Lands Strategy has been developed to identify and accelerate delivery of land, aiming to provide flood-affected residents with housing options to support relocation.

Flood-affected Lismore residents have been in limbo since the program was initially announced in October 2022. There have been over 130 acceptances of house buyback offers, with their options currently very limited as to where they can move to.

The draft strategy has been released for community consultation for 28 days, ahead of the final strategy being released in August.

10 sites have been identified in Lismore – 6 short-term, 3 medium-term, and 1 long term. See below the NRRC definitions for each of those terms:

Short-term sites – sites identified for immediate on-ground investigations to support the relocation of residents impacted by the 2022 floods.

Medium-term sites – sites that have potential benefits, to be confirmed through further investigation for future natural hazard events.

Long-term sites – sites that have strategic merit but require further work to provide for residential development.

Development of the sites identified will begin following community consultation. This will be supported by funding available under the $100 million Resilient Lands Program.

According to the Strategy, funding will be used for:

1.   Financial support for project feasibility

2.   Delivery of enabling infrastructure to unlock site development

3.   Innovative housing pilot programs

4.   Financial support for social and affordable housing development

5.   Acquisition of land and government-led residential development

See below a map of the areas identified in Lismore. The green dots represent land identified as being able to be delivered in the short term.

The NRRC won’t release specific locations of each site, only the general area as seen in the above map. The Lismore App understands this is to protect commercial negotiations that are underway.

However, from looking at the map you can get an indication of which residential land is being considered. The Lismore App has made the below assumptions:

E1 – Land on the North Lismore Plateau

E2 – Potentially land off Donnans Road in Lismore Heights, towards Bangalow Road.

E3 – Potentially land off Donnans Road in Lismore Heights, off the existing development at Deloraine Road.

E4 – Potentially extending the development off the end of Northcott Drive in Goonallabah.

E5 – Potentially advancing an existing development off Dudley Drive in Goonellabah.

E6 – Potentially land off Oliver Avenue, on the Ballina-side of the existing Regatta Estate.

The release Strategy follows a robust strategic assessment of 322 expressions of interest received by the NRRC, in addition to council-identified and Crown Land.

Each land parcel was rigorously assessed using the best available evidence and underpinned by a set of resilient growth principles to confirm its development suitability, including exposure to natural hazard risk.

Land identified in the Strategy was also reviewed by the Resilient Lands Expert Panel, an independent panel of experts with backgrounds in urban planning, environmental management, community development, Indigenous knowledge and climate resilience.

The Strategy also contains a set of pathways and principles to help inform the design and delivery of built environment projects from an Aboriginal perspective of strengthening cultural understanding and connections.

A Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation spokesperson said they will now seek community feedback.

“Housing stress is a chronic issue in the Northern Rivers region, impacting the sustainability of communities and their capacity to grow,” they said.

“This problem existed prior to the February 2022 flood event but was exacerbated by the catastrophic flooding.”

“The Resilient Land Program is focused on providing safe, sustainable and flood-free housing options for residents whose homes were severely impacted by the 2022 floods and are looking to relocate out of these areas.”

“The Resilient Land Program has been designed to complement, not replace, business-as-usual land release and housing development in the region. Action will continue to be needed to address these complex housing issues.”

The Draft Resilient Lands Strategy is live on the NRRC website and will be open for comment from the community and stakeholders until Friday, 30 June 2023. Click here to provide feedback: https://regionalnsw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_easiirBptrFEbmm

The Lismore App will have more to come on this story, including how to participate in community consultation, and reactions from residents and our local politicians.