The community will have the chance to give feedback on the City’s Draft Social Housing Plan 2018-2041, after council voted to display it until the end of December.
The plan aims to pave the way for more social housing in Greater Geelong, to address homelessness and increase living standards for residents on low incomes.
Currently, there are 3,300 social housing residences in the region. More broadly, nearly 11,000 households are living in housing stress.
It’s estimated the region would need 13,500 new social housing dwellings over 21 years, including the replacement of 1,500 existing residences, to keep up with the population boom.
The draft plan involves working with the state and federal governments to increase the supply of social housing by 6,000 dwellings by 2031 and a further 6,000 residences by 2041.
The housing plan has recommended a number of actions to be carried out by the City, including:
- Amend the City’s Planning Scheme to require new developments to include social and affordable housing based on identified need;
- Establish an Affordable Housing Advisory Committee to council; and
- Negotiate a Social Housing Agreement with the federal and state governments.
This plan was developed with the help of social housing tenants, community service agencies, housing providers, the industry sector, and attendees of the Let’s Talk About Social Housing Forum in June.
A grant from the state government’s Social Housing Investment Planning program funded this document.
The plan is now available for feedback on the Have Your Say page.
Councillor Sarah Mansfield, Chair, Social Inclusion portfolio
We often talk really positively about all of the wonderful things happening in our region, but the benefits of our growth aren’t being shared equally, and we are seeing an increase in inequality.
This plan is a really big opportunity for the City of Greater Geelong to show leadership and address one of the most serious challenges our region is facing. It has the potential to make an impact in the lives of many people, and for
that reason I think it’s one of the most important things we can do as a council.I encourage everyone interested to read the draft plan in detail and provide your feedback. We’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this very important piece of work.
