In early 2022 Council released a Discussion Paper asking for feedback on important housing issues in the Yarra Ranges. This feedback has now been used to inform Council’s Draft Housing Strategy, which is now open for public consultation.
At the 24 October 2023 Council meeting, the Draft Housing Strategy was endorsed to go back to the community for a final round of feedback to check that we haven’t missed anything when it comes to the future of housing in our municipality.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Cr Jim Child, said that housing issues nationwide have never been so urgent, and Yarra Ranges is no exception.
“Housing provides us with shelter, protection and is essential for our wellbeing. Homes are more than where the heart lives – they promote social stability and contribute to the economy.
“Council has a vital role when it comes to housing. We need to ensure that our policies and planning regulations provide for the diverse housing needs for our community now and into the future and that’s why we’re asking for your feedback on our Draft Housing Strategy.”
The key themes that emerged from the initial community feedback included:
- A need for different types of houses
- New homes should be built in areas with sufficient infrastructure
- More environmentally sustainable homes are required
- More consistency and respect for neighbourhood character
- More social and affordable housing is needed
As part of consultation on the draft Housing Strategy, we will be hosting an information webinar on 9 November 2023 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm. We’ll also hold a series of focus group sessions in the second half of November, with a focus on issues for youth, the aged, people with a disability, environment, and land development. Details of the webinar and focus group sessions will be available on Council’s website at Consultations | Shaping Yarra Ranges.
The Draft Housing Strategy is planning for housing over the next 15 years, when it has been identified that there needs to be an increase of approximately 10,700 homes in Yarra Ranges. The Strategy is available to read and comment on at: shaping website link.
The key themes that are addressed in the Strategy include:
Neighbourhood character – Council is proposing to create a residential framework that provides 10 different character types that will guide principles for any proposed development.
More diverse forms of housing – currently 79.2% of homes in the Yarra Ranges are three bedrooms or more, however by 2036 there will be a significantly larger proportion of elderly persons, and slightly fewer children and middle-aged adults, so smaller housing types are needed.
Affordable and social housing – The median house and unit price has doubled over the past 10 years, a much faster increase than the metropolitan average. The limited housing diversity in Yarra Ranges makes it harder for people who need smaller and more affordable dwellings.
Yarra Ranges has the second lowest number of rental properties available in metropolitan Melbourne making it incredibly difficult to find suitable accommodation, and little social housing compared to other local government areas
Sustainability – includes energy performance measures for individual houses, and also, food production, planting and trees, and water management.
The strategy includes an action plan which includes actions to amend the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme to provide the statutory framework needed to guide future housing change and achieve desired neighbourhood character outcomes. During these processes the community will be able to comment again.
Cr Child said, “This Housing Strategy examines what type of housing is needed into the future, where it could be and what it should look like. It considers housing affordability, building design and accessibility, sustainability, and the impact of new housing on the character of neighbourhoods.
“It is a detailed document, but it needs to be to include all the different aspects of housing and we look forward to hearing from our community on this important issue,” said Cr Child.
