Jo has dedicated her life to helping others. She’s about to be forced from her own home

Joanna Knott has called this street home for almost 30 years.

She lives in Roseville, which is a quiet, leafy pocket in Sydney’s upper north shore.

But heritage-area homes nearby could soon be bulldozed and replaced by apartment blocks.

One of them is right next door to Jo’s.

Jo is no stranger to adversity.

A ski trip changed the course of her life 34 years ago.

“I was traversing across one of the areas at Thredbo and I lost my footing,” she said.

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“It was very, very icy and I slipped and couldn’t stop.

“My head hit a tree and I woke up a few days later to be told that I would never walk again.”

Paralysed from the chest down, the 65-year-old needs 24/7 care.

Jo’s spinal cord injury means she can’t regulate her body temperature and lives with permanent respiratory issues.

But she’s also dedicated her life to helping others, raising millions to help find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

For someone so selfless, Jo’s next battle is especially cruel.

She’s spent decades and hundreds of thousands of dollars modifying her home to suit her needs.

Now it’s all at risk.

“I mentioned respiratory conditions and basically couldn’t live through that [the construction], it would be too risky,” she said.

“It was hard to find a place that was accessible and had some of the features I needed once I’d had a spinal injury.”

A Ku-ring-gai Council spokesperson said council is keeping a close watch on all state significant development applications, preparing and lodging submissions and reviewing approvals.

Watch the full story in the video player above.

Statement from the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure

We acknowledge construction in urban areas can temporarily affect nearby properties and have put in place conditions of consent to minimise impacts of the development [behind Joanna’s home].

This includes limiting construction hours and measures to manage noise, vibration, traffic and dust.

The proposal [next to Joanna’s home] is in the early stages of the planning process and an application has not been lodged.

The community will have the opportunity to have their say if a development application is lodged.

The Department will then undertake a rigorous merit assessment that takes into account the community’s feedback and potential impacts on the neighbourhood including from construction.

The proposal honours the approved TOD controls.

It was clearly communicated from both the Department and council that development applications that were in the system, or State significant development applications with Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) issued on or before 13 June 2025, would continue to be assessed under the original TOD provisions.