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Housing strategy

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The Naracoorte Lucindale Council has developed a draft housing strategy with hopes to fix the district’s housing crisis.

The draft strategy was presented to the council by chief executive officer Trevor Smart during the council’s November meeting.

The draft housing strategy follows a resolution at the council’s May 2024 meeting to prepare position papers to assist the public to understand the council’s actions addressing the housing shortage in the council area and the assistance the council can provide.

One of the council’s priority areas in the strategic plan 2023-2033 focuses on managing growth by implementing a strategy for housing—permanent and temporary accommodation, rural living, affordable housing, housing for workers, different price points, and the potential to repurpose current buildings and available spaces—including clarity about the council’s roles.

Mr Smart updated the elected members that the council had already developed a paper for Lucindale rural living, which has been promoted and distributed.

In his written report to the council, Mr Smart said the strategy outlined the current situation as to population/demographics, existing land availability, housing information (numbers, median costs, etc), and then focused on what the future growth areas or opportunities were.

He told the council that the strategy was separated into four sections: the overview of the council region, Naracoorte, Lucindale, Frances, Kybybolite, and Hynam.

Explaining the council’s role in the strategy, he said the council does not own land that can be utilised for housing.

He said the council was somewhat reliant on private landowners—and its role needed to be based on the following:

  • Asset Owner: currently not an option, unless the council decides to purchase land to develop for housing. This can provide a risk for the council, and in turn, the community through the use of public funds.
  • Facilitator: Council can bring various parties together (landowner, developer, state government, etc) to secure development. Council can be a partner in this if it so chooses.
  • Regulator: The council is the development regulator (ie decides on approvals for housing, land subdivision, etc), but it also provides advice to those seeking to develop land or provide housing—and we encourage contact before plans are progressed or development applications are lodged.
  • Advocate: Council has the ability to advocate to state and federal governments on behalf of the community or for specific projects. This can be a clear message of support of a development, assisting in the securing of government funding, or advocating to governments on barriers to development, ie state infrastructure or utility needs, native vegetation, etc.

On its role, Mr Smart said this was something the council already did on a day-to-day basis.

“We have ongoing discussions with many property owners, and some of this comes to fruition, and some don’t—and this is largely up to the property owners,” he told the council.

“As the state planning system has been reformed over recent years, property owners and/or developers are also able to access planning information and requirements through the planning portal (rather than each council’s development plan previously), which does make knowledge access and understanding much simpler than previously.”

He said the strategy, somewhat, remained broad, as each development opportunity and/or scenario would have different requirements or matters to consider—and it is generally beneficial if people can have an early discussion with Council planning staff or their own planning consultant.

Mr Smart said the council was already involved in various actions that could assist housing growth, including:

  • Ongoing discussions with Office for Regional Housing (Renewal SA) – state housing and funding/partnerships for the private sector.
  • Unity Housing—affordable or social housing developments in the Naracoorte Lucindale Council area (they have an estimated 105 houses in Naracoorte—and are looking to build new units).
  • Private sector: current subdivisions; proposed subdivisions; interested landowners who may be looking to develop.
  • Workers Accommodation—old TAFE site, Old Caves Rd planning approval, and Teys Australia.
  • PLUS—development of the LC Regional Plan to ensure various areas across our Council region are captured for appropriate zoning (elected members would be involved in this once PLUS is at a draft stage.
  • Advocating to ministers/state governments on opportunities or barriers to development.
  • Private or Council Planning Code amendments.

“Sometimes outcomes are achieved, and sometimes they are not—and this is largely dependent on the appetite of landowners and their assessment of return on investment.

“If the council is supportive of the draft strategy, we will then undertake some further development of the strategy by way of a more professional presentation (visual) and promotion of our region.”

Cr Abigail Goodman moved that the draft Housing Strategy be noted and that a workshop be held to provide opportunity for elected member input to develop the directions and priority actions for the strategy.

The motion was seconded by Cr Craig McGuire and carried.

The Naracoorte News 11 December 2024

This article appeared in the  Naracoorte News.

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