Northern Grampians Shire Council has had a major coup for the Sloane Street housing development with a successful grant application of $500,000 from the State Government's Regional Infrastructure Fund to extend town infrastructure and utilities to service the development.
This grant will complement a $500,000 matched funding contribution from council to reduce the overall cost of the development.
The funding will allow council to deliver utilities and essential infrastructure to the development site on the corner of Sloane Street and Cahill Road to leverage private investment to construct a diverse mix of new housing to attract future residents to live and work in Stawell.
The project this funding will enable involves the installation of utilities and essential infrastructure including water and sewer infrastructure, footpaths, street lighting, drainage, road and kerb works and a pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Cahill Road and Cooper Street.
Northern Grampians Shire Council Mayor, Murray Emerson, welcomed the funding from Regional Development Victoria and said he is looking forward to works beginning on the project.
"This is a wonderful outcome for our shire and for surrounding regions," he said.
"Housing availability is a serious issue in regional areas but with this funding and with our partnership with PassivePlace, we will be able to provide the accommodation our towns need to continue to grow and thrive."
Northern Grampians Shire Council previously identified that the region experienced a market failure situation in securing investment in the supply of new housing with development costs close to achievable sale prices.
"Council has worked with the Victorian Government to develop a model that will bridge this gap, creating a model for driving economic and population growth in regional Victoria," Cr Emerson said.
"This is a very exciting project and I thank the Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes for her decision to grant council the funding to ensure the essential services and infrastructure can be supplied to this important project."
In February, Council announced PassicePlace Developments as the preferred developer of the project to provide up to 110 houses for Stawell's growing population.
The Northern Grampians Zero Carbon Regional Housing Pilot by PassivePlace is a unique housing development aimed to provide our community with the identified housing and accommodation that it needs.
The houses will include many models of ownership including shared equity, build to rent, and short-term accommodation and holiday accommodation, it is one of the most diverse housing projects in Victoria.
With this funding and council able to deliver the essential utilities, the project will leverage new housing construction and eliminate the current housing and rental shortage in Stawell's current housing market.
The Sloane Street Housing Development will mainly benefit Stawell where a number of the key job opportunities are located, however, the need for new housing construction has been identified as part of the Opportunities Pyrenees Ararat Northern Grampians (OPAN) Project and will benefit employers in private investment projects as well.
Works to deliver the essential services to the site are expected to begin in January 2021.
