Griffith City Councillors deliberated a Development Application at the last Ordinary Meeting of Council, ultimately approving the new generation boarding house.
To be constructed on Belford Road, the new generation boarding house involves the construction of a single storey boarding house containing 14 boarding rooms and will be built as two buildings of seven rooms each with a separate communal room and site manager’s room.
Each room will be self-contained and comprise of a combined living and bedroom area with a kitchenette and bathroom also containing the laundry. There are two accessible rooms within the proposed boarding house, and all rooms will have direct access to the community outdoor and open space areas.
Griffith Mayor, Councillor Doug Curran said Council has been working hard to create opportunities for affordable housing, and Council’s Housing Strategy aimed to address issues developers faced with providing affordable housing.
“I am pleased that this has paved the way for this large scale development through the exemption of the Section 7.12 Contributions under Council’s Section 94A Contribution Plan,” said Councillor Curran.
Griffith City Council adopted the Housing Strategy in 2019, which included rebates on Section 7.11 and 7.12 contributions for developers who demonstrate their development proposal addresses the affordable housing issue identified in the Griffith Housing Strategy. As this development has been assessed under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009, Division 3 Boarding House, the property will need to maintain boarding room rental rates to be exempt from Section 7.12 Contributions.
“Council is and has always been committed to finding solutions to the housing crisis, and this project is just one example of how the Housing Strategy can assist developers in providing affordable housing options for our community,” added Councillor Curran.
