Temporary Housing is the hot talking issue locally, not only at Hepburn Park in Goonellabah but also at the site opposite the Tregeagle School.

The Tregeagle Community Cares Facebook page has residents making comments about the work being undertaken at the Tregeagle site and the Lismore App has received an email from a concerned resident saying work has started today.

This afternoon residents have been on the site and staged a protest with contractors leaving the site. Resdients will be staging another peaceful protest from 7 tomorrow morning when contractors said they will return to continue work clearing the site.

A letter from Resilience NSW Deputy State Recovery Controller Dominic Lane was sent to members of the community on 28 July 2022.

Dear community member,

The NSW Government is committed to supporting people impacted by the recent floods every step of the way. One of the biggest challenges is housing. We are working closely with your local council and community stakeholders on housing solutions that aim to keep your community together and ensure everyone is cared for.

As part of our commitment to support those impacted, we are in the process of establishing temporary housing sites across five local government areas in the Northern Rivers, including Lismore LGA. These temporary housing sites are intended to provide safe housing to those who are, as yet, unable to return home.

This letter is to advise that we are planning to utilise NSW Government owned land at 2 Alphadale Road, Lindendale, on the land neighbouring the Tregeagle School, to support the establishment of temporary housing sites across the Northern Rivers. The land has been identified by the Department of Planning and Environment, in consultation with Lismore Council. A licence on the land has been granted by Crown Lands to Resilience NSW for this purpose. A map of the licence area is shown overleaf.

This site will initially be used as a temporary laydown area for modular homes as they come off production lines. From this central location, pods will be moved on to their final housing sites as quickly as possible. The use of the site as a laydown area is expected to occur between August – end of October 2022. Construction on the site and the management of the site as a laydown area will be managed by Public Works, on behalf of Resilience NSW.

As sites are established and pods are moved off sites, the Lindendale site may be transitioned to a temporary housing site for the Lismore LGA. In most cases, temporary housing sites are intended to be operational for two to three years dependent on housing need. Design work to determine the layout and number of modular homes at the site is underway. Further information regarding the use of the site for medium term temporary housing will be shared once further design and construction feasibility work is complete.

In order to establish the site as a laydown area, site preparation works are expected to commence from 8 August 2022. Works may operate from Monday to Friday 7am to 6pm and Saturday from 8 am to 1pm, unless otherwise agreed by Council, and are expected to take approximately 4 weeks. While we will endeavour to minimise any disruptions to you, site works may mean there will be temporary traffic impacts or noise related disruption.

Resilience NSW is aware of the traffic constraints in the area and is working with Public Works and the site managing contractor to best understand how we might minimise any further impacts on traffic in the area, including through considering access points and timing for peak traffic hours.

Additional works will be required to establish the site as a temporary housing site once the area is no longer required for laydown purposes. These works are likely to occur in September 2022. Further information regarding the use of the site as a temporary housing site, including the number of proposed units and how the sites operate, will be shared with you ahead of these works commencing.

If you have any questions about the upcoming works, please contact Resilience NSW on 02 9212 9200 or via HousingTaskforce@resilience.nsw.gov.au. Further information on temporary housing sites can also be found at https://www.nsw.gov.au/floods/recovery/temporary-housing.

We appreciate your understanding, patience and support as we work together to help those who have been impacted during this disaster.

The letter is very ambiguous when it says "This letter is to advise that we are planning to utilise NSW Government owned land at 2 Alphadale Road, Lindendale, on the land neighbouring the Tregeagle School, to support the establishment of temporary housing sites across the Northern Rivers."

The two locations are not in close proximity hence the community confusion and concern that they may be getting a temporary housing site without any prior warning or consultation.

The land at Tregeagle is Crown Land so legally Resilience NSW can control what goes on the land.

The Lismore App has contacted CEO Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation David Witherdin to clarify what work has started at Tregeagle.

"It’s being used as a temporary storage site for pods whilst other sites are developed. Supply of pods is quicker than we can develop sites, hence the need for Hepburn Park."

When asked about the possibility of Tregeagle being a temporary housing site, Mr Witherdin responded "We certainly have no plans to do that. There were some early plans drawn up but that nothing progressed. The site doesn't have the scale and I don't think it is a very suitable location."

A simple temporary storage site on crown land is what the NRRC need, whether that appeases Tregeagle residents remains to be seen