Ballina temporary housing village
A temporary housing village has been established on Burnet Street, Ballina for local residents who cannot return home because of flood damage.
About the site
The Ballina site is located at 154 Burnet Street next to Fripp Oval on TAFE NSW owned land.
The site hosts 53 dwellings and has been operational since December 2022.
Occupational agreements are offered to residents for an initial period of 12 months. Time spent in the village will depend on the housing needs of each resident while they find and settle into long-term housing. This will allow time for rebuilding homes, moving or finding a rental property.
A requirement of the leasing agreement is that the site is rehabilitated to its prior use at the end of occupation. This is as agreed with TAFE NSW.
This village is managed by Northern Rivers Housing.
Utilities and site design
Design work by John Holland Group determined the best way of accommodating homes on the site. It also made sure any flood risk for surrounding properties is not increased by construction on the site.
Homes are installed above the 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) flood level, in line with council requirements. They also sit on a frame which means the site ground level does not have to be raised as part of construction.
In consultation with the local council, the site's stormwater management system is a detained system. It includes tanked structures which store water on site during heavy rain events. This reduces the impacts to the surrounding drainage network.
The site includes utilities such as:
- power
- water
- sewerage
- garbage collection
- on-site parking.
Central BBQ facilities and shaded play areas are also available for communal use.
Village management
All residents will sign an occupancy agreement before moving into the Ballina village. This sets out appropriate behaviour and conduct for living in the temporary accommodation.
If someone is unable to comply with the terms of occupancy agreement, they may have to leave the site.
The Community Housing Provider is responsible for:
- the day-to-day management of the site
- resident allocations
- on-site security.
The Community Housing Provider also works with local Recovery Support Services (RSS). Together, they provide support for residents, including:
- mental and physical health
- financial support
- options for returning to a more permanent living situation.
All housing units are cleaned before residents move in. Residents are then responsible for all ongoing cleaning of the housing unit, as it is their private home.
Contact the project team
For more information, contact us by:
- emailing housingtaskforce@reconstruction.nsw.gov.au
- calling 1300 003 227
The Northern Rivers Housing Ballina village team can be contacted at ballinacv@nrh.org.au
Village layout
