Shire picks provider for Aireys housing project

HOUSING Choices Australia has been locked in as the preferred partner to build social and affordable housing in Aireys Inlet.

At its last meeting, the Surf Coast Shire council endorsed Housing Choices Australia, a national not-for-profit housing provider, as its choice for the works on vacant land at 2 Fraser Drive as part of the shire’s Aireys Inlet Affordable Housing Project.

A co-design process is almost complete, after bringing together representatives from Housing Choices Australia, a community advisory group of 10 community members with technical expertise and lived experience, councillors, and council officers.

“This is a significant step in the project, to select a provider from three impressive submissions from the expressions of interest (EOI) process,” Cr Libby Stapleton said.

“Housing Choices Australia had the best alignment to our values and the community vision for the site, to achieve a high-quality housing development.”

Housing Choices Australia describes itself as “one of Australia’s largest housing providers, with a diverse housing property portfolio and residents reaching across five states”, and a provider that “delivers high quality, accessible and affordable housing for people on lower incomes and people with disability”.

Cr Stapleton said the co-design stage was shaping what the housing could look like and how many people it could house.

“We had a session on June 3, which was incredibly positive.

“Community representatives were open-minded and curious as they considered options to achieve the best outcome for the site, including density and height, traffic and parking, and the neighbouring community garden.

“Ultimately, we want the best outcome for all parties and I look forward to seeing what that is.”

She said the Aireys Inlet Affordable Housing Project was a groundbreaking move for the shire

“It highlights our commitment to play our role in the affordable accommodation crisis – a national issue that we’re feeling the impacts of locally, particularly in our coastal towns.”

Increasing the supply of social housing is one of the priority projects of G21, with the regional lobby group’s Housing in G21 Taskforce finding there were 5,898 people either homeless or experiencing rental stress with moderate, low or very low income levels across the five municipalities (based on 2016 Census data).

The EOI process for the Aireys Inlet Affordable Housing Project included the proposed transfer of four existing social housing units at the Fraser Drive site.

The next phase is a final design concept and full proposal, to be considered by the council later this year.

According to an officers’ report on the project, there is a high level of community support for building more affordable housing in Aireys Inlet but this is “contingent on the development being of ‘high quality’, ‘ecologically sustainable’, ’employing robust building techniques’ to ensure longevity and ‘look beautiful – a place people want to live in'”.