Local councils asked to find vacant land to help Allan goverment curb housing demands

The state government is seeking to unlock more vacant land as it looks to keep up with housing demands, with plans to build more than two million new homes over the next 30 years.

The state government is seeking to unlock more vacant land as it looks to build more than two million new homes over the next 30 years.

Councils have been asked to demonstrate where new builds could be located as part of a consultation process with the Allan government on draft housing capacity targets.

Final targets, based on access to local jobs, transport and services so that younger generations can live near where they grew up, are expected to be ­released by the end of this year.

Under the current housing statement, the government is aiming to boost new builds in establised suburbs by 70 per cent, and by 30 per cent in outer growth areas.

It is understood Boroondara has been earmarked for a proposed 67,000 new homes, while Kingston could have a further 59,000 to sit alongside the Suburban Rail Loop corridor, one of many moves to accommodate the major project.

The Allan Government is seeking to unlock more vacant land across local council areas to build more than 2 million homes over the next 30 years. Picture: Supplied

It comes just days after the Herald Sun reported that Victorians would have to fork out thousands of dollars more to build a home after a 65 per cent hike to domestic building insurance premiums were announced.

The move by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority outraged the construction sector, which warned it would hurt homebuyers still struggling to accommodate a $25,000 increase in costs caused by higher energy-efficiency requirements put into place last month.

There are also fears it could drive some builders out of the industry at a time when they are needed to help the state reach its lofty housing construction targets to break the affordability crisis.

But these fresh targets as part of the latest consultation could mean the amount of new builds across the inner city and its outskirts is likely to double each year.

GRAPH: Where more homes have to be built in Metro Melbourne to meet the draft targets by 2051.

Regional and rural towns were tipped to be a major focus as the state government looked to bolster the number of essential workers as well as affordable housing.

Just under 140,000 new builds have been proposed for the City of Greater Geelong as the area proves more popular with home buyers each year.

Premier Jacinta Allan said she hoped the move would ­inspire new confidence in the building sector.

“To give industry the confidence they need to get on and build, we need government and all councils working towards the same goal: more homes for Victorians, in the right places,” she said.

Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny added more housing in established areas would benfit those eager to break into the market.

“We want to work in partnership with councils to build more homes in the areas where people want to live, close to the people they love and the things they love to do,” she said.

Originally published as Local councils asked to find vacant land to help Allan goverment curb housing demands