AFFORDABLE housing and homelessness have been recognised as major issues on the Coffs Coast for a significant period of time, and the Coffs Harbour City Council recently adopted two policies to address them.

Coffs Harbour Mayor Paul Amos said, “Our new Affordable Housing and Homelessness Policies set out Council’s direction and responsibilities and will help start to identify the opportunities open to us to influence the supply of more affordable homes and the social housing that local families need.”

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Council’s Acting Director, Sustainable Communities, Nikki Greenwood, acknowledged that housing is a complex issue.

“Climate change, the pandemic, property economics, tax policies, market conditions, scarce economic incentives for developers to build more affordable homes all play a part,” she said.

Ms Greenwood said local governments can encourage developers to consider affordable and diverse housing solutions through planning controls as well as working in partnership with housing providers to assist them in providing more social housing, such as the collaboration with the NSW Government with the Argyll Estate.

She said Council can also lobby the State and Federal Governments with the community’s concerns and request changes to their current housing policies and strategies.

The Affordable Housing Policy states that Council will look for opportunities to partner with and/or support Government and the affordable housing sector to assist them to deliver affordable housing.

Council will advocate to State and Federal Governments to develop and implement policy positions that improve the availability of affordable housing.

Council will encourage and facilitate the provision of affordable and diverse housing through its local planning controls alongside adopted environmental and transport objectives and encourage and promote development opportunities provided by State and local planning instruments.

The policy requires the Council to consider the impact its decisions will have on the supply of affordable housing in the local government area.

Council’s next stage in the process is to undertake a detailed examination of other more proactive opportunities that may be available to help deliver affordable housing locally.

The Council says its Homelessness Policy is a first step in establishing Council’s role in encouraging collaboration, community partnerships and evidence-based practices to prevent, reduce and manage homelessness.

It informs Council’s actions aimed at preventing, reducing and managing homelessness.

In broad terms, Council will support and build capacity within the community to address homelessness and will develop the equity and prosperity of the city and design, develop and manage public space.

Council will now work with the local Homelessness Service Sector to develop a Sector Action Plan to support and strengthen community efforts to reduce and prevent homelessness locally.

Councillor Tony Judge said, “It’s a very good start but we need to develop a plan for action and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.”

By Andrew VIVIAN