NEARLY 300 new social and affordable dwellings will be delivered in inner Melbourne as part of a Flemington housing precinct.
The second stage of the precinct, at Holland Court, five kilometres north west of the CBD, is being delivered in partnership between Homes Victoria and not-for-profit project group Building Communities, and as part of the state government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build project.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Housing Colin Brooks announced the second stage, which will comprise 50 new social and 235 new affordable homes, as well as a new café and communal spaces, including a new 5,000 sqm landscaped community park at the heart of the site for sports, activities and social gatherings.
The first stage of the redevelopment on nearby Victoria Street is almost complete, featuring 359 new homes – 240 social homes and 119 affordable homes – as well as more community and open spaces, and will be ready to welcome renters from early next year.
The new one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes are designed to be energy efficient, aimed at reducing residents’ power bills, and are located close to public transport, community services and local destinations including Debney’s Park and the Racecourse Road shopping area.
The new housing will be delivered under a ground lease model, in which Homes Victoria will lease the land to a consortium to build, operate and maintain housing on the site for 40 years before returning the land, and all homes, to public ownership.
According to the state government, since the Big Housing Build started in November of 2020, more than 7,600 homes have been completed or are underway, and more than 2,800 households have either moved or are getting ready to move into brand new homes.
The program is on track to deliver more than 12,000 new social and affordable homes and create more than 40,000 jobs in construction, it said.
In addition, the government is also providing a new $1 billion Regional Housing Fund to deliver more than 1,300 new homes across regional Victoria, including a mix of social and affordable housing.
“Social and affordable homes are being built right across Victoria. These homes help to break the cycle of homelessness and give more Victorians a place to feel safe, comfortable and supported,” Minister for Housing Colin Brooks said.
Victoria saw a 5.3% increase in the use of homelessness services between December and March, according to Homelessness Australia.
The Labor-dominated National Cabinet in recent weeks agreed to a National Planning Reform Blueprint that will aim to streamline and boost planning and zoning, as well as removing barriers to development approvals that will accelerate housing, including bolstering medium and higher-density housing and rapid delivery of social and affordable housing
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Premiers did not heed the Greens’ calls for a national rental freeze or rental caps – a key plank of their negotiations for allowing the government’s $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to pass the Senate – instead opting to introduce a once-per-year limit to rent increases, with no caps. The HAFF would deliver 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years.
The federal government made a last-ditch bid in June to get the Greens onside, pledging $2 billion that would go directly to states and territories within weeks to deliver new social and community housing, and guaranteeing a floor for annual spending by the HAFF.
