This section considers possible locations and land availability that could support an increase in the supply of social housing in Geelong particularly:
- City of Greater Geelong (the City) owned land
- State Government owned land
- Private land
- Key challenges to future social housing supply
The potential of Council owned land
The City of Greater Geelong owns a number of properties across the municipality. From time to time the City identifies land that is surplus to requirements for municipal purposes all over the municipality. This includes small single dwelling lots to large redevelopment sites.
A preliminary assessment has identified:
- 49 Council owned sites that could potentially be used to supply some form of social housing.
- These sites comprise 172 429.73 square metres of land.
- The most readily available sites are located in areas of existing high levels of social housing.
- A significant number of readily available sites are also located in Belmont/Highton/Wandana Heights and Geelong West/Newtown/Manifold Heights.
Assuming that housing development on these sites was to occur at 400 square metres per dwelling it could be argued that this available City owned land could potentially contribute an estimated 400 social housing dwellings [19].
The potential of other government owned land
The State Government also owns a number of properties within the Geelong area. For the purpose of this project a Land Audit was also conducted of State Government owned land that is located within Residential Zones across Geelong. The Land Audit identified a total of 28 State Government owned properties.
Assuming that housing development on these sites was to occur at 400m2 per dwelling it could be argued that this available State Government owned land could potentially contribute an estimated 900 social housing dwellings.
This is a high level assumption and the final number of possible social housing units will depend upon actual lot and dwelling sizes.
The potential of private land
The City of Greater Geelong Settlement Strategy (2018) provides a high-level strategy for managing Geelong’s future residential growth. The major land supply stocks available across Geelong identified in the Settlement Strategy are shown below.
Table 18: Major land supply stocks as of January 2017
| Region | Broad hectare | Major infill | Major | Unzoned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellarine | 8 972 | 39 | 0 | 3 481 | 12 492 |
| Urban Geelong | 3 886 | 785 | 5 543 | 411 | 10 625 |
| Lara | 5 297 | 715 | 6 012 | ||
| Armstrong Creek | 18 211 | 1 450 | 19 661 | ||
| Western Growth Area | 18 000 | 18 000 | |||
| Northern Growth Area | 16 000 | 16 000 | |||
| Total | 36 366 | 824 | 5 543 | 40 057 | 82 790 |
Source: City of Greater Geelong Settlement Strategy
The majority of land supply for future housing in Geelong will come from broad hectare development of greenfield sites.
In these circumstances the City of Greater Geelong has limited capacity to influence the development of social and affordable housing through framework plans precinct structure plans and negotiations with developers. These plans and negotiations can include a focus on the future provision of social and affordable housing.
The Settlement Strategy identifies the following broad hectare developments in specific Areas:
- Completion of development of areas of remnant broad-hectare land within the Geelong Ring Road including Highton and Fyansford
- Progressive development of zoned broad-hectare land in Lara
- Continuing development of the zoned Armstrong Creek growth area as per the framework plan
- The longer-term development of the Northern Geelong (Lovely Banks) Growth Area
- The longer-term development of the Western Geelong (Batesford) Growth Area
- Continuing development of identified broad-hectare land on the Bellarine Peninsula within Ocean Grove Portarlington St Leonards Drysdale/Clifton Springs and Leopold.
Additional supply will come from areas which are already established - referred to as urban consolidation. Urban consolidation is essentially infill development and redevelopment in established suburbs. Such developments generally result in higher density dwellings in appropriate locations close to activity centres (e.g. town centres railway stations and shopping centres).
The Settlement Strategy includes an urban consolidation strategy comprising three main types:
- Key Development Areas (Central Geelong Waurn Ponds and West Fyans)
- Increased Housing Diversity Areas (located close to activity centres and selected railway stations)
- Incremental Change Areas – modest infill as opportunities arise.
The State Government amendment to the Planning and Environment Act in June 2018 encourages Local Governments through their planning role to negotiate with developers to include social housing (and affordable housing) in all new developments. The Amendment now allows Section 173 agreements to be used to secure voluntary commitments to affordable housing as part of a development.
In order to meet the existing estimated shortfall of 6 196 social housing dwellings and the projected increases in demand for social housing an average of approximately 18% of all new housing supply would be required as social housing. This is an average of 706 dwellings per year.
Table 19: Estimated social housing supply gap and supply requirements 2016 - 2041
| Year | Estimated social housing need | Social housing supply gap (includes 2% attrition) | Supply required per annum to address (from 2020) | Estimated total % of new dwellings required to be social housing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base year 2016 | 10 196 | 6 196 | 706 | 11% |
| 2021 | 11 423 | 7 823 | 706 | 18% |
| 2026 | 12 710 | 9 510 | 706 | 18% |
| 2031 | 14 078 | 11 278 | 706 | 18% |
| 2036 | 15 407 | 13 007 | 706 | 18% |
| 2041 | 16 821 | 14 821 | 706 | 18% |
Key challenges related to current and future social housing
There are several key issues associated with the current supply of social housing in Geelong that present specific challenges for the future provision of social housing these are summarised below:
| Key Challenge | Implications for the City of Greater Geelong Social Housing Plan |
|---|---|
| Location of social housing stock | The current concentration of social housing (particularly in two areas) creates large areas of disadvantage with uneven access to services and opportunities for residents. The challenge over time is to achieve a more even distribution of social housing across the City of Greater Geelong. The concentration is not limited to particular former public housing estates rather it is spread across whole suburbs which then experience disadvantage. |
| Utilisation of social housing properties | There is significant underutilisation of social housing in Geelong. This includes:
|
| Neighbourhood Revitalisation | In addition to redeveloping social housing and changing the distribution it is important to address the needs of particular neighbourhoods with high concentrations of social housing in order to improve the quality of life. The challenge is to implement an effective neighbourhood renewal strategy which not only includes redevelopment of social housing but also the development of community facilities and amenities. Some broad hectare developments (such as Lovely Banks) are located adjacent to areas with high current levels of social housing. This may provide opportunities for re-locating social housing from older areas to newer areas over time. |
| Refurbishment and renewal | Existing stock will always require maintenance however the age of some social housing stock is such that it will be more economic to demolish and rebuild. It is likely that half the existing public housing stock will need to be replaced within the 25 year planning framework. |
| Size of dwellings (bedrooms) | Current stock is weighted to larger dwellings in the context of the high demand for one- and two-bedroom dwellings for lone person and single parent households. In the future it will be necessary to provide more one- and 2-bedroom dwellings and less 3- and 4-bedroom dwellings. One- and 2-bedroom dwellings are likely to be part of medium density developments. The Settlement Plan includes a focus on increasing housing density and diversity which is consistent with a higher proportion of one- and two-bedroom dwellings suitable for single parents and lone person households. |
| Clear strategy for developers | Geelong has plenty of land which has been identified as suitable for settlement over the next 25 years providing significant opportunities for local government to negotiate with developers for the inclusion of social housing. However Council needs a clear strategy covering rezoning Precinct Structure Plans and the terms on which Section 173 Agreements can be negotiated. |
| Infrastructure for social housing | Where social housing is planned Council needs to take into consideration the infrastructure required by social housing tenants especially in in newly developed areas. For example the development of medium density social housing within 500 metres of an Activity Centre or Railway Station may facilitate access to required services. |
In summary
This section has identified that approximately 18% of all new housing supply would be required as social housing on average 675 dwellings per year to fully meet the projected demand for social housing in Geelong.
Potential sites that provide opportunities for increasing the supply of social housing in Geelong include:
- land currently owned by the City of Greater Geelong which has the potential to provide 400 social housing dwellings
- land currently owned by the State Government which has the potential to provide 900 social housing dwellings
- up to 70 000 new dwellings will be built on privately owned land across the City of Greater Geelong providing wide scope for negotiating with private developers about the inclusion of social housing within this new housing supply
Key challenges facing the future provision of social housing in Geelong include:
- the need to ensure a more even distribution of social housing
- a need to provide more one- and 2-bedroom dwellings and fewer 3- and 4-bedroom dwellings
- ensuring suitable infrastructure is provided to support social housing tenants
- redevelopment of existing social housing to better utilise available land and to better match tenants with housing types
- development of a clear strategy covering rezoning Precinct Structure Plans and the terms on which Section 173 Agreements can be negotiated