Ballina residents tackle Resilience NSW pod village plan for flood victims

Ballina residents fear a new pod village for flood victims will bring ice users and speeding drivers into the surrounding area. Their concerns boiled over at a meeting at council chambers.

Chaos erupted at a Ballina Shire Council meeting about a pod village for flood affected families – with the community grilling the state government and councillors over a lack of community involvement in planning.

Resilience NSW’s Kristie Clarke gave a presentation about the Burnet Pod village to the community during the A Ward council committee meeting on Tuesday September 13 – the first time the community had heard any specific information on the project.

Ms Clarke said the Burnet Street site will house approximately 180 families in 50 pods, with a two-year lease on the land that can be extended to up to five years.

Resilience NSW’s intention is to get “as many families in before Christmas”, Ms Clarke said, with families set to start moving in mid-October.

Wollongbar pod village. Picture Cath Piltz.

But her presentation was met with anger and frustration, and as she concluded an informal Q and A, members of the community shouted their questions and made their anger clear.

Councillor Rod Bruen tried to call the frustrated gallery to order, only to be yelled down by members of the public.

“This is the first time we’ve had the chance (to express our concerns)!” one person called out.

“Stop shutting us down,” Ballina homeowner Camila Peters-Quayle said, “nobody had a choice”.

Ms Peters-Quayle expressed concern about ice users, speeding cars, and an increase in crime following the pod village into the surrounding streets, saying most of the flood affected families came from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

“We don’t want to be robbed,” she said. “We’re the ones who live there, the ones who will be broken into.”

One ratepayer was concerned about how much the pod village would devalue their home because they’re “paying off a big mortgage”.

Ms Clarke said Resilience NSW engages community housing to maintain and ensure “appropriate security” is on site at pod villages.

The issue became so contentious, Ms Clarke left the meeting and took questions outside the council chambers.

Homeowners living near the Burnet Street pod village expressed their concerns that the infrastructure installed to service the 50-odd pods would increase the risk of flooding in the area, particularly on the corner of Temple and Burnet streets during a king-tide.

“There’s nothing there that screams any sort of drainage,” a local civil engineer who remained anonymous said. “It’s basically a flood plain.”

“My question is, if my house goes under or anyone else’s house goes under (because of the pod village), is Resilience NSW going to pay?”

There will be a follow up drop-in session for community consultation on the pod village in the coming weeks, Ms Clarke said.

But the angry residents claimed the pod village was on track to be completed and that Ms Clarke’s visit was tokenistic consultation.

“They’ve gone blindly ahead like bureaucrats do,” said Rick Potts, a Ballina homeowner who lives near the Burnet Street site.

The houses surrounding the site were within an inch of being flooded in March, and some residents fear the pod village would act as a dam and cause flooding.

Ms Clarke said contractors had enhanced drainage in the area.

“I’m not a flood expert, and I’m not going to pretend to be,” she repeatedly told the vexed homeowners.