Southern Cross Offers Lismore Land for Flood Victims

Southern Cross University is making 72ha of land available for development around its campus at East Lismore.

The university was working on its wider masterplan for the northern NSW site, which could be released as early as this year.

In a partnership between SCU, Landcom and the NSW Reconstruction Authority, more than 400 homes would be built on the site, including 80 affordable homes.

The development would also include a diverse mix of low and medium-density housing, including serviced lots and low-rise multi-dwellings.

It follows floods across the Northern Rivers region in 2022 that led to an influx of funding to relocate residents away from high-risk areas of the floodplain.

Detailed design, planning work and developing a formal commercial agreement would now start, with the intention of selling homes by 2026.

▲ The Southern Cross University site is above the probable maximum flood level.

Southern Cross University vice-chancellor Tyrone Carlin said that after the floods they undertook research focused on adaptation and renewal of Lismore.

“East Lismore is close to the university, close to the CBD and close to shops, sporting facilities, schools and other community infrastructure,” Carlin said.

“So it’s the ideal location for a development such as this.”

▲ Since 2022 there have been 52 pod homes built on the SCU campus as temporary housing.

Lismore City Council Mayor Steve Krieg said this was an important social and economic boost.

“We can now provide tangible, viable housing opportunities for our residents to be able to relocate from the floodplain, and stay in the city that we all work and live in,” Krieg said.

“Two years on from the disaster that had such a profound impact on our lives, we can now genuinely feel that progress is being made in the recovery and rebuild of Lismore.”

State Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the project was a priority for many reasons. 

“The Northern Rivers had been experiencing housing pressures for some time before the floods,” Scully said.

“The announcement is the result of a mammoth amount of work and the long-term impact it will have on Lismore should not be underestimated.”

▲ The SCU campus at Lismore formerly UNE-Norther Rivers was established in 1994.

NSW Government agency Landcom will invest $60 million to develop the site, this includes providing the infrastructure.

Participants from the Resilient Homes Program will be given priority access to buy the new land and housing before it is offered to the broader market through an additional $15 million contribution.