Mission Australia plans $2 million, 48-lot affordable housing project at Rokeby

Plans have been released for an affordable housing development on Hobart’s Eastern Shore amid calls for a long-term approach to the state’s social housing shortage.

PLANS for a $2 million affordable housing project at Rokeby have been advertised for public comment.

A 48-lot subdivision is planned for 80 Burtonia St, which was this year re-zoned as general residential under the State Government’s affordable housing strategy.

It comes amid calls for a broader and longer-term strategy to be implemented to address current and future demand for affordable housing.

A University of Tasmania report last week revealed 14,200 new social housing dwellings will be required over the next 20 years, many of which are needed now to meet current demand.

The development application for the Rokeby site has been submitted by All Urban Planning on behalf of Mission Australia.

HOUSING DEBT WAIVER WILL BENEFIT FAMILIES

The report suggests the construction of a new road between Hart Place and Burtonia St running parallel to Tollard Drive, and the removal of a pedestrian underpass.

Lots 1-47 vary in size between 450 and 779 square metres, while multiple dwellings are proposed for lot 48, which is 2296sqm.

According to the Government’s Affordable Housing Action Plan, the project will cost an estimated $2 million with the hope construction will be completed by December next year.

The application is available from the Clarence City Council offices and website, with representations due to council by January 6.

Co-author of the December Housing Update from the University of Tasmania’s Housing and Community Research Unit, Dr Kathleen Flanagan, said an interventionist approach was needed from Government.

“The scale of need is so extreme now in Tasmania and this problem has been building,’’ she said.

“Building 1000 homes here or there is very welcome for households who move into those homes, but we need to be thinking about matching solutions to the scale of the problem.”

TasCOSS CEO Kym Goodes says a range of factors are affecting housing affordability. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

Outgoing chief executive of the Tasmanian Council of Social Service, Kym Goodes, said a broader approach to social housing and other associated factors was essential.

Ms Goodes said housing affordability had been affected by a range of factors, including population growth, tourism, increased numbers of international students, low wages and high levels of underemployment.

“These multiple factors require solutions that look more broadly than just social housing,’’ she said.

“They require a governance and oversight model that ensures all these variables are understood through data and evidence.”

A State Government spokeswoman said the Government was investing $258 million over eight years through its Affordable Housing Strategy.