Almost 24,000 new regional homes will be delivered sooner after 16 councils secured nearly $3 million in funding from the NSW Government.
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Cowra Council will receive $92,000 in the latest rollout of the program for a housing strategy.
Council says land banking, infrastructure constraints and community confusion about planning and housing terminology provide particular and immediate challenges in relation to housing availability and affordability in Cowra.
"A Housing Strategy is a chance to inform both council and the wider community about key issues and possible solutions that can assist in both informing and promoting both affordability and availability of housing opportunities within Cowra," Council said.
Cowra Council's application was based on research of similar Housing Strategy projects at other surrounding regional NSW Councils.
"The grant will help council plan strategically for our future housing supply," the spokesperson said.
"The strategy will investigate and address housing constraints and opportunities including the identification of development ready land and/or land that is required to facilitate future housing development.
"A Housing Strategy will enable Council to understand the type of housing required to meet community needs and inform our strategic planning for the next 20 years," Council said.
The Department of Planning and Environment's 2022 Population Projections identify that Cowra Shire is going to continue to grow and create an implied dwelling need of a minimum 930 additional homes between 2023-2041.
Extra housing will be needed in addition to this amount to cater for temporary worker and tourist accommodation.
The objectives of a housing strategy are to:
- Provide evidence-based assessment of demographic patterns and housing trends.
- Articulate targets, demographics, opportunities and constraints
- Undertake legislation and policy health checks, with a focus on the supply of suitable lot sizes and land use tables to ensure the opportunity for diversity in housing typologies
- Provide an implementation plan
- Be considerate of broader transformation within the region.
- Via stakeholder engagement, be considerate of community aspirations.
"This planning will investigate a range of processes," Council said.
One of these is the Local Environmental Planning Instrument (LEPI), just one of many pieces in the planning jig-saw puzzle.
"For smaller regional and rural councils, such as Cowra this 'future thinking' is especially relevant, due to the financial impact of large-scale infrastructure projects associated with housing provision, such as reticulated water and sewer supply," Council said.
The Council's Regional Housing Strategic Plan stands to examine community needs for the next 20 years, including 'health checks of Cowra's Local Environmental Planning instrument.'
The grants are part of a suite of initiatives aimed at driving regional housing supply - including expansion of the Government's Urban Development Program, the Regional Housing Flying Squad, the Regional Housing Fund and the Accelerated Infrastructure Fund.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said: "This is about supporting regional councils to undertake vital efforts to speed up housing delivery for regional communities".
"These grants will help deliver the important planning work needed to boost housing supply, affordability, and diversity and support growing regional communities.
"We are focused on better coordinating housing and infrastructure delivery across the state while making sure regional homes are ready for the hazards of the future," Mr Scully said.
