Voluntary Home Buy-Back progress in Lockyer Valley
Relocation, demolition and site rectification works are powering ahead on Lockyer Valley properties purchased under the Voluntary Home Buy-Back (VHBB) program.
The program, part of the $741 million Resilient Homes Fund, was established to support those hit hardest by the 2021-2022 south-east Queensland floods.
The initiative is jointly funded through Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
21 contracts of sale have now been settled in the Lockyer Valley, allowing families to move on with their lives out of high-risk flood zones.
In the Lockyer Valley, under the VHBB program, to date there have been:
- 33 valuation inspections undertaken
- 30 offers presented
- 24 offers accepted
- 21 contracts settled
- 14 demolitions or home removals complete.
The VHBB program has enabled people in high-impact flood areas to relocate and rebuild on safer ground in the same way many homes were rebuilt or relocated from Grantham following the 2011 floods.
By moving people out of harm’s way, the program is helping prevent future property damage and the personal hardships that have occurred during recent disaster events.
In total, more than 600 homeowners have accepted life-changing offers under the VHBB program.
Following homeowner agreement for buy-back, the VHBB program funds respective councils to purchase the land, with all homes purchased under the program demolished or removed.
Three demolition contractors have been engaged by Lockyer Valley Regional Council, with 14 homes now demolished or moved from site.
The land will then be re-zoned to an appropriate, non-occupied use such as green space, meaning the land won’t be occupied again and no one else will suffer the devastating impacts of flooding on that property.
For more on the Resilient Homes Fund, visit www.qld.gov.au/resilienthomes