Novocastrians invited to have their say on future of affordable housing

City of Newcastle is a step closer to increasing the range of residential options across the city with its Affordable Housing Contributions Scheme now on public exhibition.

The planning proposal was endorsed by Councillors at the December 2023 Ordinary Council Meeting and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has now determined it satisfies pre-exhibition conditions.

The scheme proposes to add affordable housing provisions to the Newcastle Local Environmental Plan 2012, which will enable a condition of consent for new residential and mixed-use developments to make contributions towards affordable housing, where a new development is greater than 540m2 or benefitting from zoning uplift.

Contributions will be in the form of a financial subsidy, a dedication of land or completed dwellings to City of Newcastle and would be managed by a community housing provider and used to maintain, build, and develop affordable housing. 

Affordable housing is available to support very low to and moderate income households experiencing housing stress, which occurs where housing costs are greater than 30 per cent of gross household income after other basic living costs. 

Executive Director of Planning and Environment, Michelle Bisson, said the scheme modelled construction costs, taxes, location, land value, and return on investment to retain residual value and ensure viability and feasibility. 

“I am particularly pleased to have received endorsement from the Department’s Housing Policy Team who commended the work of our City of Newcastle team," Ms Bisson said.

"Our planners have developed a rigorous methodology to establish appropriate contributions rates for development in different parts of the city."   

With the latest forecasts showing the population is set to increase by 41,150 residents to 202,050 by 2041 in the Newcastle LGA, with need for almost 20,000 new homes, City of Newcastle is committed to supporting the increase of affordable housing in the city.

City of Newcastle's Housing Policy sets a target of 15 per cent affordable housing across the city on privately owned land, and 25 per cent on government land, consistent with benchmarks to deliver affordable housing and housing diversity. 

City of Newcastle's Affordable Housing Working Party Chair Councillor Elizabeth Adamczyk said the scheme has been carefully developed in consultation with housing experts and industry stakeholders and refined through an extensive development feasibility assessment.

"Our team has done incredible work to ensure that we can increase our supply of housing and maintain development feasibility, while increasing the availability of much-needed affordable housing across the city," Cr Adamczyk said.

"With ever increasing numbers of people in our community experiencing housing stress, affordable housing is an important social infrastructure that supports liveability and wellbeing by enabling a strong, diverse, and inclusive community.

“This scheme is consistent with the objectives of the Newcastle 2040 Community Strategic Plan and our community's vision for a liveable, sustainable, caring, and inclusive city."

Community members are invited to provide feedback on the planning proposal and Affordable Housing Contributions Scheme via City of Newcastle’s Have Your Say page until 2 February 2025.