Push to keep affordable housing in Armstrong Creek

TALKS have begun to fill in the details of what Geelong is going to receive instead of the Commonwealth Games, and local stakeholders are particularly keen on the promised social and affordable housing.

Victorian Minister for Regional Development Harriet Shing hosted a meeting in Geelong on Thursday last week about the $2 billion housing, tourism and sporting infrastructure package for regional Victoria.

About 100 stakeholders from across the state attended the Geelong Events Centre to discuss the regional package, which includes a $1 billion Regional Housing Fund to deliver at least 1,300 new homes in Victoria, including social and affordable housing.

In Geelong, the Games village for athletes and officials was to be built just south of Waurn Ponds railway station in Armstrong Creek and be converted into housing, including social and affordable homes, once Victoria 2026 was over.

Real Deal Geelong community organiser Sally Fisher was one of the attendees at Thursday’s meeting.

She said afterwards her alliance was keen to ensure the Commonwealth Games legacy package would stick to the plan and give “greatest attention to our need for affordable, accessible and environmentally designed homes”.

“We were pleased that Minister Shing expressed a desire to have genuine engagement with community organisations about the site to help address the crisis in social and affordable housing in Geelong.

“Alongside housing, we were pleased to see the meeting raise issues around local employment, such as programs for maximising local procurement and tourism, and questions of justice by ensuring that the Traditional Owners inputs are valued and respected.

“The next steps should include a meeting to discuss the Commonwealth Games village site planning and development processes with stakeholders (including community organisations) to explore how we might design and build on the village site a development that can respond to these different community needs through collaborative planning approaches.”

City of Greater Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan welcomed the consultation from the state government about the package.

“We’re pushing for 30 per cent targets for social and affordable housing in the village – this is still very closely aligned with the state government’s 20-30 per cent target,” he said.

“Waurn Ponds is still very much a live site that we’re going to be pushing.”

Ms Shing did not guarantee the promised housing for Geelong would still be built in the same place.

“The work with the village site is the subject of ongoing conversations and discussions,” she said.

“Housing Minister Colin Brooks has been at the centre of that work with housing organisations, with councils and with others to make sure what we deliver is fit for purpose and it’s in the right place at the right time.”

South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman has previously said his government “will deliver on the promised sporting facilities and housing for the South Barwon electorate and Geelong region”.