Byron Shire Flood Recovery Update –Friday 10 July 2022

Roads Update

The rain earlier this week slowed things down a bit. Here is a snapshot of some of the work we got stuck into over the last two weeks.

Grader Maintenance team

• Chinamans Hill Road – completed
• Picadilly Hill Road – is close to completion
• Mafeking Road should start next week.
• Bangalow Road edge – has been finished.
• Stuart Street in Mullumbimby – still working on drains and road edges

Capital Works crews

• Myocum Road
• Stage 2 of the Pocket Road upgrade has restarted
• Kingsley Lane project is due to start next week

Stormwater team

Over the last several weeks the Stormwater crews have been opening and clearing drains across the Shire including:

• Bulgoon Street
• The very end of Manse Road in Mullum
• Tuckaroo Estate – retention pond

They were also working on some of the open drains in Mullumbimby.

Contractors

• Kings Road at Federal is almost completed ready for seal but the rain has held this up.
• Jones Road repair should be completed very soon.
• Settlement Road Main Arm is finished.
• Whians Road at Federal is finished.
• Flood repair work in Main Arm started in late June.
• Crews have started repairing two small slips at Upper Main Arm.
• Pre work started on Springvale Road for the stabilisation crew, which will follow in the coming weeks.

Hinterland

Staff met with hinterland residents from the Huonbrook Valley this week and talked about the timeframe for repairs to roads.

Council’s priority is to get all remaining access roads in Huonbrook open as quickly as possible.

Contractors are being engaged to start this work and all going well they will be onsite by mid-August.

We will also be doing so repair work on the access roads to Huonbrook.  This will include filling the potholes and grading roads where needed. We know this is not a long-term fix but it will be a lot better than it currently is.

Staff are also looking at a slip on Johnsons Road.

Report your road damage and potholes

We are working on filling the many potholes across the Shire and we welcome your notifications. The best way to notify us of particular potholes, or road damage, is via the Report It tab on our website.

Waste 

Free flood drop off has finished. Exceptions may apply with prior written approval.

Call 1300 652 625 for more information.

Update for hinterland residents

There is a bin bank at the intersection of Huonbrook and Wanganui Road for residents beyond this point.

These bins are to share, please do not remove them or swap them from the bin bank.

If you no longer have bins, please call the Resource Recovery Hotline, 1300 652 625 to organise replacements.
 
Govt help with flood debris on public and private land

We know there is some angst in the community about large flood debris, such as cars, that remain on private land, public land and in some waterways.  The clean-up of much of this flood debris will be managed by the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

For the clean-up of all flood debris on private land, register at Request clean-up of flood debris on private land program | Service NSW. For further info call MRA Consulting Group on 0492 941 487.

If you have found large or hazardous flood waste on the beach, or in rivers and waterways you can report this directly, via email, to flood.programs@epa.nsw.gov.au.

You can find details for all flood clean-up programs on the EPA website.  There are guidelines for each program.

Please note the recovery of insured vehicles will be the responsibility of insurance companies.

Mullumbimby Flood Recovery Centre

The Mullumbimby Flood Recovery Centre is now operating out of the CWA Hall on the corner of Tincogan and Gordon Streets in Mullumbimby.

The reason for the change of venue is because we are repairing flood damage to the Civic Hall.

The Recovery Centre is open Monday and Wednesday from 9am to 4.00pm.

The following services are available:

• Service NSW
• Legal Aid NSW
• Insurance services.

Information about the Flood Recovery Centre is on Council’s website.

Rates relief announced for flood affected ratepayers 

The NSW Government has announced that flood-affected ratepayers in the Byron Shire may qualify to have their 2022/23 land rates paid.

The rate relief will apply to any ratepayer who has made a successful claim through Service NSW, or who had their property assessed by the SES as directly damaged from the flood or storm events.

Eligible ratepayers will have their residential, business and farm rates for 2022-2023 paid for by the NSW Government.

Note – this only applies to land rates not charges such as waste, water and sewer.

Service NSW will administer the program and eligible ratepayers will receive the relief automatically. There is no need to apply. The NSW Government will be contacting ratepayers directly to confirm their eligibility.

People who do not receive rate relief but think they are eligible should contact Service NSW on 13 77 88.

Rural driveways may now qualify for disaster relief funding

If you’ve been declined Australian Government Disaster Relief Funding (AGDRF) in the past, it could be worth checking recent changes and additions to eligibility. In certain instances, rural driveways may be considered a major asset and therefore may now be eligible for funding.

To be eligible for AGDRP a person must have been seriously affected by the event. This means you were either:

• Seriously injured,
• Are the immediate family member of an Australian citizen or resident who died or is missing; or
• The flood destroyed or caused major damage to the person’s home (principal place of residence – so a holiday home does not count) or
• Major damage to a major asset or assets with a combined market value of at least $20,000.

In terms of major assets, this could be separate buildings on the property, vehicles, caravans, water tanks, large scale machinery or fencing. Rural driveways may be considered a major asset when:

• The part of the driveway that is destroyed or suffered major damage is located at the person’s principal place of residence and is on private land,
• The driveway provides the only vehicle access to the person’s principal place of residence, and
• The driveway has a market value of at least $20,000.

Destroyed for a major asset means it is unusable. Major damage to a major asset (that is not a water tank) means that it is damaged by heavy rainfall or by flood water to the extent that it needs to be replaced.

For more information go to the Services Australia website.