Eurobodalla Shire Council’s draft housing strategy is on public exhibition with submissions due by 23 April. Photo: Eurobodalla Shire Council.
Eurobodalla Shire Council’s (ESC) draft housing strategy 2024-2044 says the current affordability crisis needs national and state-based solutions, however it aims to alleviate the crisis by adding diversity enabled through precinct-level master planning.
The report, on exhibition, pays particular attention to housing diversity and also provides context for the draft Batemans Bay master plan shortly to be released for public exhibition.
The report makes it clear that ESC’s role is limited to planning rules and approval processes.
Among its key messages are that “contrary to widespread speculation, the Eurobodalla has no land supply or planning process problem”.
A 2023 NSW audit of the Eurobodalla’s housing supply found enough greenfield land and future sites to provide residential land lots and dwellings to 2046. Some of that land though is constrained by fire and flood risk, slope, and environmental concerns that would be costly to address.
The report includes a table that shows that in five of the six years from July 2017 to June 2023, the supply problem was caused by construction rather than the council’s approval of development applications. That indicates the construction industry’s capacity needs to be improved to meet the demand.
Eurobodalla Shire Council’s draft housing strategy projects that households will increasingly be dominated by couples only and lone persons. Photo: via Eurobodalla Shire Council website.
Another key message is that Eurobodalla’s sizeable (27 per cent) number of absentee landowners is a major issue affecting housing in the shire, with the population tripling during busy holiday periods to 120,000.
“Supplying more houses does not guarantee more availability for residents,” the report said.
The report has four key themes.
Housing supply and demand appears adequate, on paper at least.
The second theme of housing diversity, specifically a lack of one- and two-bedroom dwellings, multi-unit developments, and shop-top housing, gets much attention.
The third is the location of housing, namely building dwellings closer to town centres where there are jobs, facilities, and infrastructure. That potentially reduces the need for cars and parking spaces. The report indicates master planning is key to these two themes.
Lastly, housing affordability, is the most difficult to solve, “the existential problem requiring actions from all three tiers of government”.
The report says the crisis in both affordable rental and affordable home ownership needs national and state-based solutions, with ESC working around the edges of the problem.
It says “some planning issues and complex structural issues inhibit the provision of affordable housing”.
In reference to rental affordability, delivering low-income and social housing needs is the role of community providers, although ESC can review the planning framework to remove blockages or enable a range of dwelling types that are not available.
As for affordable home ownership, the report says ESC can’t fund community housing projects. However, it will focus on identifying sites suitable for affordable housing opportunities and higher density-unit development in commercial centres to provide a social or affordable housing component.
ESC has some room to reduce development costs through planning standards such as infrastructure requirements and by allowing increased density reducing the land requirements for developments.
Eurobodalla Shire, like most of regional NSW, is dominated by separate houses. There is relatively little medium- and high-density housing. Photo: via Eurobodalla Shire Council website.
The report says that responding to gaps between housing expectations and delivery is a significant focus of the council’s current master planning projects for the “growth nodes” of Batemans Bay, Moruya and Narooma. As part of that it will review and, where appropriate, seek to amend the height controls in employment zones and adjacent residential zones in those three master plans.
Those growth nodes are the focus of planning for housing supply, although a shire-wide housing strategy also includes rural housing and the densification of rural villages.
Also on public exhibition is the associated scoping report that councillors asked to be prepared before releasing the draft housing strategy report.
It provides an analysis of affordable housing strategies adopted by Bega Valley Shire, Queanbeyan Palerang Regional and Shoalhaven City councils.
Like the draft strategy housing report, it talks of the lack of one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Eurobodalla and Shoalhaven councils have taken a functional approach of “what can council actually do”, while Bega and Queabeyan strategies offer opportunity for council to become a building partner in the building and construction side of supply.
ESC’s draft housing strategy notes the development industry may be hampered in delivering affordable housing and medium to high-density residential living by existing planning regulations, industry regulations, infrastructure, and land-holding investment obstacles.
The report is on exhibition and submissions close at 4:30 pm on 23 April.
