Ballina Shire Council to speed up food-resilient housing plans with new funding

By Sarah Waters

Ballina Shire Council has been allocated

$210,000 from the NSW Government’s $100 million Resilient Lands Program (RLP) to help bolster housing options in the Shire.

Last Friday, Member for Lismore Janelle Saffn, Member for Ballina Tamara Smith and Acting CEO of the NSW Reconstruction Authority Mal Lanyon made the announcement.

The funding will be used to help Ballina Shire Council fast-track the planning and design of housing on councilowned land at Hutley Drive, Lennox Head. It will also be used to ‘unlock housing capacity’ in the Ballina CBD, including using shop tops as housing.

Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader said the boost would help council address some of the housing needs that have existed in Ballina prior to the foods.

“Council can now get on with the important job of planning for this site on Hutley Drive in Lennox Head and explore options in the CBD for mediumdensity housing,” Ms Cadwallader said.

The Ballina Shire Housing Strategy prioritises providing residences for local workers within the community.

Member for Ballina Tamara Smith said she hoped that any council land that comes under the Resilient Lands

Program has a signifcant portion dedicated to either social or affordable housing.

“We need genuine affordable housing for residents in our community, not expensive housing stock that is of more interest to property investors,” Ms Smith said.

The announcement marked the ffth round of funding under the Resilient Lands Program, which is fully fnanced by the NSW Government.

Ballina is the fourth food-impacted council to be assisted with funding under the program.

Previous allocations have supported housing projects in East Lismore, Mount Pleasant Estate in Goonellabah, Saddle Road in Brunswick Heads and Summerland Estate in Casino.

The Resilient Lands Program was established to unlock land and provide safer places for people to live across the Northern Rivers following the 2022 foods.

The program includes a

The Resilient Lands Program links in with the $700 million Resilient Homes Program (RHP).

Participants of the RHP, who have accepted variety of new home and land options and provide pathways for foodimpacted homeowners to relocate to safer areas. a buyback offer from the government, are typically given the frst opportunity to purchase new land and homes before they’re offered to the open market.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully emphasised the program’s role in advancing the development of food-resilient housing solutions, particularly in food-prone areas like Ballina.

“This will really accelerate the delivery of food-resilient land and housing options for people to move off the food plain.

“In Ballina it will help deliver a greater range of higher density housing options in the CBD and at Lennox Head and potentially add to the social housing stock as well.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery Janelle Saffn said foodaffected communities across the Northern Rivers region had been waiting for safer land and housing options to be identifed.

“I’m pleased to see another LGA added to the councils receiving support under the Resilient Lands Program.

“The Community Leaders Forum (seven mayors and six state and federal MPs) early on adopted the principle of equity in recovery for the entire region affected by the 2022 foods.”

Acting CEO of the Reconstruction Authority Mal Lanyon said the RLP would offer families affordable housing options while assisting councils in infrastructure planning for major housing developments.