The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC) recently announced the next step in the $100 million Resilient Lands Program, identifying 22 sites across the Northern Rivers for development, some rapid development.

In Lismore, 10 sites were identified and form part of the draft Resilient Lands strategy which is now open for public comment.

NRRC CEO David Witherdin sat down with the Lismore App to discuss the draft Resilient Lands strategy in more detail.

"I'm certainly happy with the draft we've got in the Resilient Lands Strategy. I'm happy we've got it out there in the community, that's a key milestone. People have an opportunity to consult on that and I think, importantly, we're sitting down and having a discussion around it today."

Following the release of the draft strategy Mr Witherdin received a lot of criticism from Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin and Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan for the lack of detail and the pace the program is moving at.

"I'm always really conscious for any local member, any mayor, any councillor, all of those community leaders are under significant pressure in terms of expectations from the community, and, I'm sure clearly they feel that deeply. Certainly, my role as a bureaucrat is to always give that frank and fearless advice best supported by evidence and I think it's entirely appropriate that MPs challenge our work and take us to task on things. We always welcome the feedback around what we can do better."

"We know we've got an enormous task in front of us in terms of what we're doing here in the reconstruction. It's the biggest of its type in Australian history. We're not going to get it right all the time, we continue to continue to improve."

It's early days but what sort of feedback have you received?

"We've had some feedback from different quarters, particularly more from stakeholders than the community and when I say stakeholders we're talking about councils. That feedback is positive and I'm not surprised by that because we've worked closely with each of the seven councils in the development of the strategy."

"While the strategy is an important milestone all the hard work starts from here. Importantly, it's out there in the community and they have an opportunity to have some input which we will take on board and then we'll finalise the strategy."

"But most importantly, we then get on with the delivery of trying to, as rapidly as possible, bring that sort of mix of sites together and to market. So, while it was a lot of work to get here there's an awful lot more to come."

"The importance of this strategy is the fact that it provides a platform for us to get the maximum utility from that $100 million the state government has allocated. You can look anywhere else in the state or the country, no other region has that, so that provides us with a significant opportunity. But the scale of the challenge we've got is enormous, if we don't do that well, we could really miss that opportunity and that's the importance of getting this strategy right."

There has been some criticism about the NRRC not telling people exactly where the land sites are. Does that curtail public feedback?

"No, I don't think so at all. You can certainly tell within fairly close proximity where those sites are and there's certainly many people in the community that may well be able to, or think that they can identify those sites."

"It's important to understand that we've been through an expression of interest process. There are clearly commercial interests and it's really important that this is supported by robust processes of probity. That means, certainly in the early stages, there needs to be some commercial in-confidence type approach there."

"But, people can be absolutely assured that in order to put these sites forward, we've been through an independent expert panel, they've been evaluated against a multi-criteria and then there's been that community reference panel that had an overview of this process."

"Most importantly, all of the sites are flood-free sites and they're low in bushfire risk. People will know those general locations, but then as we move through the development phases, we will share more and more information. So, I appreciate people may be a little bit frustrated at the moment, but that's pretty typical of any sort of development at this point in the game."

During the media briefing, we were told that some sites are quite advanced in terms of finalising an agreement. Does that mean we will see work start this year or early 2024?

"We expect that we'll be in a position to make things happen, whether it's relocating a house or to start building a house, in that first quarter of next year, 2024. That's certainly the goal."

"I get that many people will see that as a long way off but in terms of development and development cycles, it's really very rapid. So, we've got a good deal of confidence that we can achieve that in some areas, but it relies on proponents working with us, it relies on council, everyone aiming at the same point."

"Almost all of the sites are already zoned appropriately, they just need to move through the approval pathway with the respective Councils. We're certainly working closely with councils and their planning teams and it will be the role of the NRRC to really facilitate a fast-tracking of those approvals. So, whether there are certain reports that are needed, all those sorts of things, we need to ensure that they're not caught up for a long time in that planning process."

"We've all got to come to the table with the intention to address an absolute community need to make this happen quickly. We've got to find ways to make it happen, not reasons for it not to happen which often happens in the planning system. So, it relies on local, state government and the NRRC to make it work."

Typically, once you break ground, how long does a site take to be market ready?

"It really depends on a site-by-site basis, and as we work through the progress of each site we'll share that. An example of that, is in the sites that were developed for the temporary accommodation, so the pod type accommodation across the Northern Rivers, there's been 11 of those sites with the closest one here, not far away at Southern Cross Uni."

"In terms of the infrastructure that's gone in there, so water, sewer, power, roads and paths, that's pretty similar to what you would require in a subdivision. So, once you push the button it can generally be done within a matter of months depending on the site constraints. Certainly, three to five or six months at the outside."

"Often, you don't have to wait for the whole lot to be completed before you can start developing individual lots as well. And importantly, for people that have accepted a voluntary purchase offer, we've been really clear about that opportunity for extended settlements as well. We're talking at least a year in the first instance so we can work with people who have a clear intention to move onto one of those sites as they come online."

Will the people that have accepted a House Buyback have a choice as to which site they would like to move to?

"Yes, certainly. As people accept offers we request information from them about what their intentions are. So, that it will enable us to get some demand and analysis together around what they want and then we'll certainly develop a process to support that once these sites are locked in."

"Part of the process was around identifying those flood-free sites that have some proximity to communities because clearly, people want to be close to where they live. They've got an affinity with that area. Everybody wants to retain that sense of community. Many of them want to be close to neighbours as well. I think wherever we are able to achieve those outcomes we ought to try but we've got more work to do in that space. We've got to understand just what the demand will be."

"Importantly, it's having a mix of housing styles as well. Not everybody wants a 3 or 4-bedroom house on a large lot. Certainly, there'll be many people who will but it's having the diversity of options and we've seen, particularly from the temporary housing, a really high demand from single-person type households and when you flow that through to the ongoing housing market, we need a type of housing or product that fills that need as well."

"That's really important from an affordability point of view. We clearly need some greater investment in social accommodation right across the Northern Rivers, there's a really high demand for that with very limited supply. For affordable accommodation options as well. So, that means, in some areas some higher density options like townhouses and units. We've got to be open-minded to that but in the right places and the right location as well."

"We've certainly been able to identify areas where we may be able to retain some of that look and feel of the community by relocating houses as well. I'd be really keen to explore those opportunities."

If you would like to make a comment about the draft Resilient Lands Strategy, click here.