A dedicated housing officer has been appointed by Mount Alexander Shire Council to address the issue of boosting affordable housing in the shire.
Clare Richards began in the new role early last month and has already begun meeting with community groups and other key stakeholders to identify opportunities for affordable long-term housing for low and middle-income households.
Mount Alexander Shire Council’s CEO Darren Fuzzard said council had appointed Ms Richards to advocate for state government support to maximise those opportunities.
“The Victorian Government has established a $5.3 billion Big Housing Build fund specifically to boost the supply of social and affordable housing and we want to access a share of that,” he said.
“For quite some time now our community has been calling loudly and clearly for council to get involved in addressing housing affordability.
“In developing fresh plans to set our strategic direction, we asked our communities right across the shire what they wanted us to focus on and the lack of affordable housing repeatedly emerged as a priority,” Mr Fuzzard said.
“It’s now a clear objective in our new four-year Council Plan for 2021-2025 to do the best we can to address that.”
Ms Richards has already met with members of the community-led My Home Network, which was established in the shire in 2019 to address the same challenge.
She is also meeting with other local, state and private sector stakeholders to scope the needs, priorities and opportunities in the shire. That includes scoping out available sites and identifying funding.
“Housing affordability is all about ensuring all community members are able to live safely in our community,” Ms Richards said.
“It’s also about ensuring that we can keep our elders and our young people in our community as well as those who perform fundamental and essential services.
“That means having homes for rent or purchase available for low-to-moderate income households at a percentage of their income that also allows them to meet their essential living costs and is sustainable for them over the long term.”
Ms Richards said a lack of affordable housing was affecting communities everywhere and that current conditions were especially challenging for creating opportunities for it to be developed.
“We have an influx of people seeking housing. Our builders and developers are busy and accessing suitable smaller and medium sized sites is challenging,” she said.
“However most people know somebody either in their own families or their neighbourhoods or communities whose housing needs are not being met and it’s my job to lead council’s efforts to address this.”
Ms Richards is an experienced advocate for local government at state and federal government level and in the private sector on housing, community, health and aged-care services.
MACEDON RANGES
Macedon Ranges Shire Council is also seeking feedback to help refine a new draft Affordable Housing Interim Policy.
Affordable housing, as distinct from housing affordability or affordable living, specifically focuses on the housing needs of the very low, low and moderate income households.
Affordable housing is identified as a priority area in the Council Plan 2021-2031 and Health and Wellbeing Plan 2021-2025.
The Big Housing Build program, announced by the Victorian Government in November 2020, is providing $5.3 billion investment in social and affordable housing.
As part of the program, $30 million has been identified as the minimum investment in the Macedon Ranges, providing an opportunity to increase social and affordable housing in the shire.
Homes Victoria will deliver Victoria’s Big Housing Build on behalf of the Victorian Government.
A comprehensive Affordable Housing Policy for the shire will be completed by July 2023.
The draft interim policy can be viewed on council’s website: mrsc.vic.gov.au/yoursay, or in person at any of the council’s customer service centres in Gisborne, Kyneton, Romsey and Woodend.
For more information, visit: mrsc.vic.gov.au/yoursay or call 5422 0333.
Submissions close at 5pm on November 25.
