During the last Lismore City Council Flood Risk Management Committee meeting last week, a NSW Reconstruction Authority update said that flood-affected uninhabitable homes were starting to be demolished.

The Lismore App asked the NSWRA for a schedule and location of the soon-to-be-demolished houses so the community would be aware when demolition is visible.

A spokesperson for the NSW Reconstruction Authority said, "The $700 million Resilient Homes Program (RHP) and the $100 million Resilient Lands Program are the largest projects of their kind in Australia.

The program offers prioritised homeowners buybacks, house raising or retrofits. One of the RHP’s primary aims is to purchase and remove homes that are at the greatest risk from floods and get people out of harm’s way.

As of July 26, 2024, 797 buyback offers had been approved by the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) and 664 buyback offers had been accepted across the Northern Rivers.

In Lismore, 563 buyback offers have been approved, and 486 buyback offers accepted.

In addition, about 370 homeowners may be eligible for a house raise or retrofit.

In Lismore, 57 homeowners have been engaged about a house raise or retrofit, and 27 have been contacted about having a home assessment carried out.

After buyback homes are purchased, they will be progressively removed from high flood risk areas with the removal approach for each home informed by a structural risk assessment. 

Where a home is assessed as having structural issues, and it is not economically viable for relocation, the home will be identified for removal.

RA has started work on removing 16 of these structurally unsound homes for safety reasons. Several of the homes have been knocked off their stumps, exposed to the elements, contain hazardous materials or are beyond repair.

The homes are located across the Northern Rivers region, with a particular concentration in Lismore and Tweed. Work removing these homes has been underway since early July.

Where possible, valuable building materials will be recycled and re-used to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Once homes are removed the site will be levelled and maintained by RA until future plans for the area are finalised. 

While we asked for a schedule and locations, at least we now know that 16 structurally unsound homes are being demolished. If you see an RA-fenced house in the CBD, North or South Lismore being demolished, you understand why it is being demolished.

During the Flood Risk Management Committee meeting, it was also mentioned that 50 buyback homeowners will be gifting their homes to people or the RA.

"As well as home buybacks, raise and retrofit, RA also recently confirmed its gifting and relocation policy. It allows buyback homeowners to gift their homes to a third party if they do not want to relocate the home themselves if it meets the policy requirements. If homeowners do not wish to relocate their home or transfer it in accordance with the Gifting Policy, RA will seek to re-use the homes where practical."

The Lismore App understands the RA is also investigating a proposal to facilitate the sale and relocation of flood-impacted homes bought back through the RHP through expressions of interest. No doubt, more information will become available when this has been finalised.