Report launch marks start of local development industry chapter

BALLARAT will soon have its own chapter of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA).

The chapter will be launched at a regional industry briefing at Craig’s Royal Hotel today, Friday 22 August, which will also mark the release of a new report on Ballarat’s housing supply by Ethos Urban.

At least 100 people, primarily from the development industry, will attend the event – Ballarat’s Housing Future: Targets, Supply, Choice – which is already sold out.

The UDIA’s Victorian branch CEO Linda Allison said the decision to establish a Ballarat chapter was a response to interest from institute members and broader interest in the city as a development option.

“We found ourselves in a position this year to be able to service a chapter, so we decided to set that up,” she said.

Ms Allison said the chapter would have a committee drawn from institute members operating in and around Ballarat, with expressions of interest to be initially called for at the event.

She said it would follow the model of similar chapters in Bendigo and Geelong, which were well established and helped the UDIA develop policy positions and submissions related to their areas to councils and the State Government.

“It’s also to be an advocate for growth and success for the region, so it’s not about just representing developers and consultants,” she said.

“It’s about, what does a city like greater Ballarat need to thrive, and also recognising the strong contribution the construction sector makes in a city like Ballarat.”

Ethos Urban is a team of planners, economists, engagement specialists, project managers, social strategists and designers, which works on leading positive change to the quality of urban living across Australia.

Director Chris McNeill will be the keynote speaker next Friday and will present the findings of an Ethos Urban investigation of Ballarat’s housing supply, demand and market preferences, and will discuss whether they are adequate to meet the region’s future needs.

Mr McNeill will be joined on a discussion panel by several other industry experts including the City of Ballarat’s development facilitation executive manager Joanna Cuscaden.

“We’ll have quite a few key stakeholders there,” Ms Allison said. “We’ve had a tremendous response, it actually sold out very quickly.

“The industry has really been doing it tough in Ballarat over the last 12 months or so…and I guess the interest is about seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.”

Ms Allison said the State Government’s Plan for Victoria released last year set a target of 46,900 new dwellings for Ballarat by 2051, but only 40 per cent of those were earmarked for greenfield development.

“The targets…are very ambitious, not only in the number of homes they’re looking to deliver but also the height and makeup of those homes – whether they’re greenfield or infill development,” she said.

“Those targets are very different to what’s been traditionally delivered on the ground, so what we wanted to do was bring Ethos Urban in to have a look in granular detail – what is the current supply, what are the future projections and is there enough supply; do they line up.”

Ms Allison said similar investigations had been done in Bendigo and Geelong