Flood victims are continuing struggle to find suitable housing long after the February-March flooding subsided has exposed a critical gap in our plans for recovery from natural disasters.

The NSW government promised to provide temporary housing in the form of 2,000 modular homes. But delivery has been held up by the need for planning approval amid community divisions over some sites.What are the conflicts about?

In July, Lismore City Council considered a request from Resilience NSW to lease part of Hepburn Park as a site for state-funded temporary housing. The park is used for local sports such as cricket, hockey, soccer, school athletics, touch football and Oztag. The motion lapsed as there was no seconder.

Councillors later did discuss a further NSW government request to use the site for temporary housing. The minister for flood recovery, emergency services and resilience noted there were “no other suitable alternative sites”.

However, there has been a community debate about the importance of retaining sporting grounds for local sports. The council decided this month not to permit temporary housing at the park. This leaves displaced residents with no other options.

The NSW government promised in April to send up to 2,000 modular homes to communities across the Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Richmond Valley and Lismore areas. Most sites required a lease arrangement with the local council.

By July, only one of 11 sites identified as suitable for housing flood victims had opened at Wollongbar. Others are still being constructed.

The uncertainty about providing shelter for disaster-affected communities six months after the floods confirms the urgent need to co-ordinate policy on temporary housing at all levels of government.

The NSW government says it has committed to provide temporary housing for up to three years after the floods. Yet, as we have seen in Lismore, existing local uses and temporary housing can come into conflict. Unless a long-term solution is found, this conflict will bedevil future disaster responses too.

Housing is generally seen as fixed, with temporary housing limited to specific locations such as caravan parks or camping grounds. This approach does not allow for the uncertain and catastrophic impacts of disasters that require immediate responses.

Temporary housing for thousands of people requires extensive infrastructure such as water, sewerage, power and communications. Housing on this scale may have long-term impacts on recreation areas and completely remove their availability for other uses in the short term. Ways to balance ongoing community needs and temporary housing are needed.

Mark Maund, WSP Team Lead Regional NSW & ACT / Adjunct Senior Lecturer, University of Newcastle; Kim Maund, Deputy Head of School, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle, and Thayaparan Gajendran, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Image: NSW government

Architecture & Design Team

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