Commonwealth Games legacy housing on its way

A PLAN to deliver over a thousand homes in regional Victoria in lieu of the 2026 Commonwealth Games is under way.

Last year the State government announced it would send an additional $1 billion to build 1300 homes as part of the Regional Housing fund.

To date 77 new homes have been built in Bendigo, with a further 286 now under construction.

A spokesperson for the State government said they will continue to partner with local councils in Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, and Morwell to reach regional housing targets.

“As part of our bold Housing Statement reforms, we’ve set an ambitious target for 800,000 homes to be built in Victoria over the next decade because we know that housing only becomes more affordable when you increase supply,” the spokesperson said.

The site of the Commonwealth games athletes village was also initially proposed as a site for social housing, and a CoGB representative said the city continues to advocate for this to happen.

“Ultimately this is a question for the Victorian government,” they said. “Prior to the cancellation of the Games, early works and investigations had happened on site, so we don’t want to lose this work.”

According to the representative discussions with the state government will continue this year to decide the best option for future development at the site.

The regional housing fund was added on to the Victorian government’s Big Housing Build fund of $5.3 billion aimed at increasing housing supply across the state.

An additional $150 million will be spent to develop housing and accommodation for workers in regional Victoria.