Ambitious targets in Housing Statement welcomed

STAKEHOLDERS including Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) and the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) have welcomed the focus on reforming the state’s planning system in the Housing Statement.

Released last week, the Housing Statement proposes rezoning under-used and surplus government land to build an estimated 9,000 homes across 45 sites in both metropolitan Melbourne and the state’s regions.

The Victorian government predicts regional Victoria will grow by 500,000 to 2.3 million by 2051, and has set a target of 425,600 new homes for regional Victoria, including 152,000 over the next decade, to facilitate that growth.

RCV – which represents Victoria’s 10 largest regional cities, including Geelong – notes this will mean more than 40 houses will have to be built in regional Victoria every day for the next 10 years to meet the demand.

“Regional Victoria has been growing faster than predicted over the past five years, a trend exacerbated through the pandemic, and that growth will only continue over the next 10 years,” RCV chair Cr Andrea Metcalf said.

“We knew that to accommodate that growth, an overhaul of the planning system was desperately needed as it was clearly not benefitting our regional cities, so we applaud the state government for making it a priority.”

RCV says the measure to remove councils as the decision makers for state-significant developments in regional towns worth $15 million or more, or where they deliver at least 10 per cent affordable housing, should be used with caution.

Planning approvals for these developments will be cut by two-thirds, from 12 months to four months.

“It is critical that land supply is unlocked and enabling infrastructure built, however this cannot come at the expense of regional residents’ ability to have a say in developments,” Cr Metcalf said.

“As the Minister for Planning becomes the decision maker for significant residential developments that include affordable housing, grassroots campaigns to influence development will have fewer avenues to have their voices heard.”

UDIA Victoria chief executive officer Linda Allison said the Housing Statement was the first step in implementing overdue planning reforms.

“Untangling planning red tape is an important step to getting projects moving to deliver much-needed homes for Victorian families.”

UDIA Victoria has also welcomed the commitment to support housing across all types of communities, including growth areas, the regions and established suburbs.

“We are delighted that the government listened to industry concerns and has acted to get Precinct Structure Plans [PSPs] moving,” Ms Allison said.

“PSPs are the blueprints for new suburbs, new homes, and new communities.

“Recognising the need to get PSPs moving again is a confidence boost for a part of the industry that has effectively been on ice.”

The institute is also calling for an expanded affordability plan that commits to addressing other factors affecting affordability, such as taxation, construction costs and labour shortages.