By Mikayla van Loon
An updated social housing strategy has been approved by Yarra Ranges Council for the former Lilydale quarry site soon to be the Kinley estate.
Being a Comprehensive Development Zone Schedule 1 (CDZ1), an Affordable Housing Delivery Strategy had to be submitted and agreed to before permits could be issued.
With an estimated 3050 homes to be built at Kinley, Yarra Ranges Council has committed to a five per cent affordable housing strategy to provide 162 homes of this kind.
Of that five per cent, 2.5 per cent was allocated to social housing and the remaining 2.5 per cent to affordable purchase dwellings for higher income earners.
After investigation and discussion with advisory committees, the council has amended the percentage divide to elevate the social housing portion to 3.5 per cent and distribute this throughout the building stages to allow people to move in as soon as possible.
Yarra Ranges Housing Action Group (YRHAG) chair Kate Coleman said while 3.5 per cent was a step up, she would have liked to see the full five per cent go to social housing.
“I am thrilled there will be some affordable housing provided within the development. Personally I would like the full five per cent to be affordable rental but the reality of that is that is not going to happen, it can’t happen cost wise and rationally,” she said.
Ms Coleman said with the remaining homes, she would like to see some State government intervention to purchase those as social housing.
“What I would like to suggest is that some of the home ownership properties could be purchased by a government housing department,” she said.
“For that to happen, Yarra Ranges Council and the community need to work closely with the State government and the minister for housing to ensure they come in to purchase some of the 1.5 per cent that are up for purchase and include those in the public housing list, even 10 properties would be wonderful.”
Having worked in the social housing sector for over 40 years, Ms Coleman understands the crisis the Yarra Ranges is facing with a lack of affordable housing and rentals.
“We’re desperate for affordable housing out here, we have no crisis facility and very, very limited rental and certainly affordable rental, not unlike other places.
“We really need to start pushing to get the Yarra Ranges area on the housing map with the State government. We could probably fill 4000 houses in this shire for rental.”
Ms Coleman said affordable rentals in the shire have also been severely impacted by the increase in AirBnb’s popping up for accommodation purposes.
Curious about the precedents set by the State government in the past around purchasing houses for social use, councillor Fiona McAllister asked Ms Colman of her experience in this area.
“Not so much these days but traditionally, of course they did and what family housing we have out here is owned by the State government, which used to be the old office of housing but that was spot purchased,” Ms Coleman said.
Spot purchasing began in the 1970s after the community asked for a pilot program in the outer east which, according to Ms Coleman, saw the then Ministry of Housing purchase properties in Chirnside Park.
“Now that affordable housing is well and truly back on the agenda, everybody is talking about it, now is the time when we put these proposals up to the State government…it’s an opportunity to get them back involved,” Ms Colman said.
Yarra Ranges Council CEO Tammi Rose said she would be interested to put forward an agenda item in the future supporting an advocacy program for the State government to purchase homes.
Cr Sophie Todorov put forward the motion to approve the increased social housing percentage and to ask the property owner Intrapac to build some social housing within stage one.
“We are in a crisis situation with a lack of affordable housing, this translates into our municipality being identified as having a great need for having this type of housing for priority communities,” she said.
Seconding the motion Cr Tim Heenan said by way of social housing in the Yarra Ranges, there is “virtually nothing”.
“This is great as a start and I suppose this wouldn’t have come about if we weren’t dealing with a substantial piece of land that is going to be redeveloped into a lot of housing,” he said.
“We need to do much more, we need to do substantially more, as the months and years go on, we know that in our patch out here.”
Although voting to approve the recommendation, Cr Johanna Skelton said she definitely would have liked to see more social housing.
“Even five per cent seems so minimal across one of our only opportunities for anything substantial as far as number of homes. It still feels kind of sad that the best case scenario that we’re putting forward is 3.5 per cent for social housing,” she said.
Councillors voted to approve the motion unanimously.
