‘Shocked’ Northampton family who lost home in cyclone given 90 days to leave Shire housing for deputy CEO

A Northampton family who lost their home in cyclone Seroja have been told they must move out of their council-leased property so the Shire’s deputy CEO can move in. On Monday, the family was told they had to leave the house on July 14 to make way for Shire of Northampton deputy CEO Grant Middleton. Mr Middleton, who has been in the role for 10 years, has been living in Geraldton but has recently decided to relocate to Northhampton. Cyclone Seroja destroyed the family’s rental home in Northampton on Grey Street on April 11, 2021, when mother-of-three Hannah Cross was pregnant with her third child, Cooper. Ms Cross said she was “shocked and frustrated” when they were given just 60 days to vacate their shire-owned home. “We had just started doing a few things,” she said. “We had talked to the council about painting the house and extending the lease for another year.” After The Geraldton Guardian contacted the shire, Ms Cross was informed on Thursday evening that her vacation date had been extended by a month to August 11. Northampton, home to 3000, was devastated by the cyclone, as were several communities throughout the Mid West with gusts of wind hitting 170 km/h and torrential rain lashing down. More than two-thirds of buildings in Northampton and Kalbarri suffered significant damage, while 10 per cent suffered severe or total damage. The Cross family were in their house when its roof collapsed. “I remember our youngest one thinking there were army tanks outside trying to blow us up,” Ms Cross said. While the family own a plot of land in the area that they have been hoping to turn into a home, the labour shortages and supply costs impacting Northampton in the years since the cyclone have prevented them from building a house, and they had been staying in shire properties since June 2021. According to REIWA, there are no rentals available in Northampton. According to the Shire of Northampton, there are seven shire-owned homes in Northampton and two in Kalbarri, which are all occupied. With no rentals available in Northampton and housing difficult to buy, Ms Cross said she fears the family will have to leave Northampton. The family may have to move to the Pilbara, where Ms Cross’s husband Gregory works, but she said she would be deeply saddened to leave. “We’re just kind of taking it day by day to see if anybody has got anything for us,” she said. “I work at the local hospital, my role is needed, my children go to school at St Mary’s, my husband plays football, and so do my kids.” Ms Cross said the Shire had expressed sympathy and that Shire president Liz Sudlow had repeatedly apologised to her. Mr Middleton said his thoughts were with the family. “The Shire of Northampton has apologised and is regretful that the family has had to relocate,” he said.