Central Coast Council executives says the NSW Government’s recently announced housing target for the region over the next five years is reasonable but points out that councils have limited influence in achieving the statewide goals for new houses.
Premier Chris Minns has set new targets across Greater Sydney, the Illawarra, the Hunter and Central Coast and regional NSW, with the Central Coast given the goal of completing 9,400 dwellings by 2029.
A Council spokesperson said the target was reasonable, given the historic performance of housing developments and current levels of activity on the Central Coast.
“The 9,400 dwelling completions over a five-year timeframe equates to about 1,900 completions per year which is a level which has been achieved in the past,” the spokesperson said.
“However, it should be noted that the targets (for all LGAs) are for housing ‘completions’ and councils only have limited influence in achieving that outcome.
“Councils are only part of the housing development ecosystem, and it makes little sense for them to be marked against whether new homes are completed when this is beyond the control of local government.
“It is also important to note that ‘completions’ mean when the property is occupier ready – and not based just on ‘approvals’ of development applications.
“Current data Central Coast Council has available indicates that almost 40 per cent of dwellings Council approves are never completed.
“Lack of follow through from approval to completion could be caused through a developer/builder reviewing the viability of a project, material and labour shortage, interest rates and economic conditions, as well as State and Federal Government policy settings.”
The spokesperson said Council has, and will continue to, work with both the state and federal governments, the development industry and the community to improve housing outcomes.
In announcing the targets, which some councils have rejected as unrealistic, Minns said housing is the biggest single cost of living pressure people are dealing with right now, with mortgage payments or rent the largest expense for most households.
“The NSW Government is absolutely committed to confronting the housing crisis head on – and that means building more well-located homes; close to infrastructure and transport links; next to amenities and work opportunities,” he said.
The Government also announced the first stage of an incentive program for councils which meet and beat their housing targets.
It will reserve $200M in grants for councils to fund more green space such as parks, sporting facilities and smaller pocket parks, plus maintenance of local streets and footpaths which councils maintain.
This is in addition to support already announced including through reforms to developer contributions of $1B over the forward estimates, and up to $700M per year beyond that.
This funding is reserved by the NSW Government to help fund schools, hospitals and roads to support the population growth that comes with new housing.
An additional $1B raised through this contribution will also be directed to local councils over 10 years for housing enabling infrastructure.
Over the next five years 82 per cent of the housing targets come from infill areas with 18 per cent to come from greenfield locations.
Minns admitted the targets were ambitious and would be difficult to meet.
Minister for Planning and Public Space Paul Scully said the targets were evidence-based and realistic.
“The new targets make for a fairer distribution across Sydney and NSW, with growth in areas where jobs and transport exist or are planned for,” he said.
Local Government NSW (LGNSW), the peak association representing all 128 councils across the state, says the new targets provide certainty for the sector, but it was disappointing that councils were not more involved in their co-design.
President Darriea Turley said LGNSW had long been calling for engagement on housing targets so that elected representatives and council staff could get on with the job of planning for the future.
Turley said questions remained around the monitoring of the housing targets, which have been released in the same week as a report from KPMG showing a growing ‘glut’ of dwellings approved but not completed due to rising costs of building materials, labour shortages and higher interest rates.
“Councils have an important role in addressing the housing crisis but they do not build houses,” Turley said.
Under the announcement 43 councils across Greater Sydney, Illawarra-Shoalhaven, Central Coast, Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle have been provided with individualised housing targets to be completed by 2029.
The rest of the state has been allocated 55,000 new homes, which aligns with expected demand and growth for new homes in those regional areas.
For more information on the housing targets, visit https://planning.nsw.gov.au/housing-targets
Terry Collins