Lismore City Council (LCC) says it’s “extremely disappointed” the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC) draft land strategy has failed to include sites it put forward for relocations, overlooking an opportunity to speed the process. 

The council says the strategy includes property nominated by landowners through an expression of interest (EOI) process, while omitting public or crown land or privately owned sites the council proposed, many of which already have development application (DA) approvals. 

 “By ignoring the sites that were put forward by LCC – that are zoned for residential use and generally with DA approvals in place – we believe the Resilient Lands Strategy is missing opportunities to deliver its objectives faster and potentially cheaper than on some of the sites that have been included in the draft strategy,” Lismore GM Jon Gibbons said. 

A council submission says that “in numerous meetings” with the NRRC, staff were assured that the EOI for private landowners was only one step in the process for identifying a pipeline of suitable land to support new housing and the relocation of flood affected residents. 

Lismore has also cast doubt over the expected number of dwellings that the strategy says could be built on six short-term sites. 

“In the interests of setting realistic expectations from the community, it is recommended that these indicative yields be amended if these sites are included in the final version of the strategy and that realistic numbers be provided if other sites are identified,” the submission says. 

The Resilient Land Program is part of action the NRRC is coordinating to deliver a supply of land and housing for flood impacted residents in high-risk areas in the Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed Local Government Areas.   

Submissions on the draft land strategy close on Friday.