Wollongong is a growing and vibrant city that's increasing in popularity as a location for visitors and new residents.
As we continue to see greater numbers of new residents calling Wollongong home, we need to continue to plan for the future. One of the ways we can do that is to have a Strategy in place to guide our actions to address housing issues.
The draft Strategy has been in the works for a number of years, and we've compiled stakeholder feedback, heard from our community and reviewed updated data. We are now up to the next stage of sharing the draft document with our community.
From now until Friday 2 December, we're seeking feedback on the draft Wollongong Housing Strategy. You can read the draft Strategy and provide feedback online via the Our Wollongong website or by viewing a physical copy at the Wollongong Library.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said that now's the chance for community members to provide feedback on what they think Council has got right, what can be improved and if anything has been missed.
"Affordable housing is one of the important issues covered in the draft Strategy that we will continue to grapple with on a national, state and local level for years to come. Wollongong City Council will need to work closely with all stakeholders, including State and Federal Governments and community organisations, to implement changes that improve access to housing," Cr Bradbery said.
"The draft Wollongong Housing Strategy is an important document that will influence and shape the decisions Council makes to improve access to housing that is affordable and meets the needs of households in our community. It also aims to ensure that the housing we plan for is sustainable and considers environmental factors, complements our existing and future community centres and is supported by transport options.
"Once endorsed, the Strategy will be implemented through draft changes to planning controls contained within a number of other Council documents.
"Our city is changing both in demographics and numbers and we will need to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure people can access housing that's affordable and caters for different needs. It's important that we get this process right and that's why we want to receive feedback from the people who live, work, and play in our city."
The draft Wollongong Housing Strategy proposes a raft of changes to key planning documents including:
- Wollongong Local Environmental Plan 2009 (LEP)
- Wollongong Development Control Plan 2009 (DCP)
- Development Contribution Plans
- Fees and Charges Policy.
The implementation of any changes to the above policies will be subject to further public exhibition for community feedback.
Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle said that the draft Wollongong Housing Strategy has been several years in the making.
"Thank you to all the residents, community groups and stakeholders who have already provided valuable advice, feedback and data. We've used your ideas, thoughts and information to create the draft Wollongong Housing Strategy which is now up for review on the Our Wollongong website," Mr Doyle said.
"Projects of this nature take time to get right and ultimately become a roadmap to guide Council's decision-making into the future. It's great to see Council's progress on this project and for us to reach the exciting milestone of seeking further community input.
"Once our community has had their chance to have their say, we will collate and review feedback, then take the updated draft Wollongong Housing Strategy to Council for endorsement.
"We are keen to hear from our community on this project and I know that housing is something that can be a very emotive topic and something many in our community care about. I encourage everyone to embrace the opportunity to provide their feedback by 2 December."
