Northern NSW flood victims to be housed in recovery pod ‘cities’

Families left homeless after the devastating NSW floods will be able to relocate to temporary housing “pods” — which were successfully used during bushfire recovery.

Thousands of families left homeless after the devastating floods will be able to relocate to temporary housing “pods” as they rebuild their lives.

The NSW government will establish mini cities of the modular home at a series of sites.

It is expected up to 2000 of the modular homes will be acquired as part of a $350 million investment in flood recovery.

Sports fields at Wollongbar near Ballina on the north coast will house the first pods as discussions occur with councils in the hardest-hit regions on ­additional locations.

The pods, which can accommodate one to four people, were first used in the aftermath of the bushfires.

The selected sites will include supporting infrastructure and amenities with the first location to initially comprise 25 pods and up to 100 people.

The recovery pods were used help those who lost houses in recent bushfires get temporary accommodation on their own land.

The delivery of the pods comes amid stories of flood victims families being kicked out of emergency accommodation or living out of cars and borrowed caravans.

Premier Dominic Perrottet, who is expected to make further visits to the region, declared housing as the biggest challenge for flood victims.

The recovery pods offer basic kitchen, bathroom and sleeping facilities that people can use while they rebuild their houses.

The pods would allow people to move out of emergency accommodation and into more appropriate housing, he said.

“There’s no doubt that housing is the most pressing challenge for the thousands of people impacted by these floods,” Mr Perrottet said.

“These modular homes are going to make a real difference for individuals and families as they begin the difficult ­process of rebuilding, recovering, and healing over coming weeks and months.”

Talks are under way with local councils across Tweed, Byron, Richmond Valley and Lismore to find locations for the modular homes.

The pods were successfully distributed to victims of the Kangaroo Island bushfire so people could stay on their own land.

Additional locations are ­expected to be identified in the coming “days and weeks” with site readiness and installation works to take approximately four weeks.

Preparatory work at the Wollongbar Sports Fields site will begin in the next week.

Community housing providers will provide the long- term site management.

A pod being delivered to a bushfire victim. Picture: Matt Turner

The Government has been criticised for both failing to properly prepare for the ­extreme weather event and failing to respond fast enough to help flood victims.

However Flood Recovery Minister Steph Cooke said the NSW Government was throwing every resource at ensuring affected communities had ­access to a range of support ­options to meet their needs throughout the recovery.

“Cities” of recovery pods will be established for flood victims in northern NSW.

“Across government and the emergency services, we are on the ground in flood affected communities listening to locals and working to ensure they get what they need to bounce back as quickly as possible,” she said.

Planning and Homes ­Minister Anthony Roberts said regulatory changes had been made to allow temporary ­accommodation, both private and government, to be set up more quickly without development consent.

“We’ve cut through the red tape to make it easier for the establishment of temporary homes, including caravans and self-contained vehicles, for up to two years without council approval,” Mr Roberts said.

“This was a successful measure after the Black Summer bushfires and we have now extended it ensure flood-affected communities have access to the same provisions.”