University land provides high-ground housing for flood-hit locals

Having played host to local flood evacuees for the past two years, an Australian university is now handing over a golf course-sized chunk of land to house them permanently.

Southern Cross University (SCU) has agreed to part with a 72-hectare site near its Lismore campus for a housing development in the flood-ravaged town’s east.

The arrangement has been outlined in a “heads of agreement” with two New South Wales (NSW) government agencies, with the commercial details still to be finalised. It is the culmination of efforts by the university – which is located on high ground, beyond the flood-prone Wilson’s River’s reach – to give sanctuary to local residents, businesses, schools, police, paramedics and even politicians.

SCU also helped to kick-start the area’s revival after the devastating 2022 floods, hosting business advisory services and undertaking research into adaptation and renewal.

The site, which is roughly the same size as the university’s nearby main campus, is former farmland ceded to SCU as part of its 1994 establishment. It has been used sparingly by the university for agricultural activities.

Largely forested, it contains a football field, a cemetery and military buildings. It has hosted temporary housing for flood-impacted families over the past 18 months.

Vice-chancellor Tyrone Carlin said it was the “ideal” site for a more permanent arrangement. “I look forward to seeing this land opened up and to welcoming hundreds of residents, including families, students and university staff,” he said.

Lismore mayor Steve Krieg said progress was “genuinely…being made”, two years on from the disaster. “We can now provide tangible, viable housing opportunities for our residents to be able to relocate from the floodplain.”

The 400-home site will feature low- and medium-density housing, some of it low-cost. Flood-affected locals – including hundreds of householders who have qualified for a government buy-back scheme, with their homes considered unlivable because of damage and future flood risk – will have first choice before sales are opened up more broadly.

Construction is expected to start this year, with the first sales in 2026.

“I want to offer a big thank you to SCU for working with us to increase much-needed land supply,” said NSW premier Chris Minns. “This is something the Northern Rivers community has been waiting for, and today is an important step in their recovery.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com