Spencer Gulf mayors say more land rezoning needed to house hydrogen workers
Spencer Gulf mayors have urged the SA government to release more land for development, saying they don’t have enough space at the moment – let alone for 30,000 extra hydrogen workers.
SA News
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New housing is crucial to accommodate the more than 30,000 workers expected to flock to the Spencer Gulf region over the next decade, local mayors warn.
Spencer Gulf Cities – an alliance of Whyalla, Port Augusta and Port Pirie councils – is surveying companies contributing to the Hydrogen Jobs Plan, to understand the housing required for the $593m state government venture.
It comes two weeks after Premier Peter Malinauskas travelled to Whyalla for an economic summit, where he announced more than 80 cabins would be built in the city to house up to 1000 temporary workers.
Whyalla Mayor Phil Stone welcomed the announcement but said it was likely more land would need to be rezoned for long-term urban development.
“We’ve had a shortage of general housing for some time, let alone for what the future holds,” he said.
“We have some great builders in Whyalla but they can’t cope with doing 20 or 30 houses at a time. We need the government to release some land and help us put together packages so we can actually get a major developer up here.”
The Hydrogen Jobs Plan will attract 25,000 temporary workers and more than 5000 permanent workers to the region, according to Spencer Gulf Cities.
More than 1000ha of land has been earmarked for new development, mixing residential and commercial purposes in Whyalla. Mr Stone said housing and rental shortages had become more acute in the last 12 months.
“Anything that goes on the market is basically sold within a matter of days,” he said.
“I can remember a time decades ago when properties would be on the market for three to six months. Now, anything that is put on the market is just snapped up because we don’t have enough supply.”
Port Augusta Mayor Linley Shine said the town faced similar challenges with identifying the type of housing needed, as many service workers and professionals were expected to operate between the three council areas.
“It’s not just about saying we need this amount of housing, it’s about understanding what sort of housing we need,” she said.
“We’re seeing more density housing being built because of the cost of living, so people are looking at more affordable options. But ultimately we need housing across all layers, including public housing.”
The alliance’s survey findings will be released end of March.
Last week, the government opened up $10m in grant funding to councils for regional housing, in addition to the 18ha of land put aside for the workers’ accommodation hub.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Nick Champion said the government was “committed to ensuring the supply of well-located quality housing to support the Hydrogen Jobs Plan and other major projects in the Upper Spencer Gulf”.
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