Gentrified coast pushing out low income residents

The Central Coast is being “gentrified” with people on very low and low incomes being pushed out because they simply cannot afford to live in the area, says Central Coast Council.

Social housing has been in decline and the Coast has become more socially polarised, with growing concentrations of severe disadvantage.

“Housing affordability is an issue for the Central Coast region, and the evidence shows that the area is becoming far less affordable for very low and low income households,” Council said in a submission to the NSW Legislative Assembly Select Committee on Essential Worker Housing. 

The suburbs of Wyong, Gorokan, Lake Haven, San Remo, Toukley and The Entrance are in the most disadvantaged 10 per cent of areas for Australia according to the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA). 

When a household is paying more than 30 per cent of their income for accommodation, they are considered to be in housing stress and those who are paying more than 50 per cent are considered to be in severe housing stress. 

Council said that migration from the northern parts of Sydney, compounded during the COVID-19 pandemic, pushed up property prices causing pressure to flow on to marginal populations, significantly increasing housing stress, social vulnerability, and homelessness. 

“Recently, the region has seen a reduction in the number of people on very low and low incomes because they simply cannot afford to live in the area,” Council said. 

“This is referred to as gentrification and reflected in the out-migration date. 

“In 2021, there was a loss of low income renters tracking at a 0.8 per cent loss per year since 2016. 

“There was also a notable reduction in housing stress from 24,200 in 2016 to 20,297 in 2021.” 

Council said there was also a significant mismatch in housing demand and supply, and a low level of housing diversity, which was particularly serious in the context of a much older than average, and rapidly ageing population. 

The rate of high density development was much lower in comparison to Greater Sydney and had experienced little growth over the past decade. 

Council said there had been very limited growth in private rental stock, and an actual decline in the proportion of social housing. 

The Committee’s Inquiry is focused on establishing an appropriate definition of essential worker housing for the NSW Government to adopt, as well as identifying options to increase housing supply for essential workers.

Council’s recommendations include giving priority to people on very low incomes which would service key worker cohorts in health care and social services, trade and construction, clerical and administrative and general labourers and other key worker industries such as early education, sales and marketing and hospitality which are secondary employment sectors on the Central Coast.  (See story: Coast’s key workers don’t qualify for social housing)

In 2019 Central Coast Council adopted the Central Coast Affordable and Alternative Housing Strategy, with 27 actions for intervention to address the increasingly critical under-supply. 

“From 2016 to 2021 the Central Coast region has become more socially polarised, with growing concentrations of severe disadvantage,” Council said.

Compared to Greater Sydney, the region has a much older age profile, a much lower level of household income and greater need for assistance according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics from 2021.

Merilyn Vale