Tony Raunic’s Post

Setting housing targets for local government areas would provide greater clarity about where new homes should be built, particularly for moderate-income households currently being forced to the city fringes. The targets should be combined with zoning changes to accommodate more homes, the streamlining of approvals for low-rise apartments and townhouses that met updated design standards, and infrastructure charges to apply to developments across Melbourne and not just the fringes. Reworking the infrastructure charges would help give communities the transport, open space, schools and amenity they need. The Age reports today on proposals being considered to enable delivery of more homes, including housing targets being written into local planning schemes and requiring council planners, councillors and Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal members to consider them when weighing up approving housing developments - https://lnkd.in/g25JG3tp 'Our Home Choices' from Infrastructure Victoria has extensive evidence analysis on how to shift housing demand from new suburbs to give more Victorians the choice to live close to jobs and services in our major cities- https://lnkd.in/eeaNi4rb #housing #choices #planning #Melbourne #Victoria #infrastructure #reform #evidence #research #policy Josh Gordon Kieran Rooney Royce Millar Municipal Association of Victoria Kelly Grigsby Planning Institute of Australia Property Council Victoria Housing Industry Association (HIA) UDIA Victoria Department of Transport and Planning SGS Economics and Planning Patrick Fensham Victorian Planning Authority

The MAV and councils across Victoria stand ready to support the Victorian Government in tackling the housing crisis and boosting housing supply. That’s why we partnered with SGS Economics and Planning to produce the “Shaping Metropolitan” and “Shaping Regional and rural Victoria” discussion papers, as the State Government continue work to relaunch a new version of Plan Melbourne. We’re also joining forces with the Planning Institute of Australia's Victorian branch where together we will call for more collaboration between State and Local Government to ensure the implementation of housing capacity targets is achievable. Understanding the current and potential capacity for housing in each region and municipality – through housing capacity targets – is important, and this strategic work will be successful if the state works with councils, unlocking the extensive planning knowledge and expertise in the local government sector.   Housing capacity forecasts that are generated through genuine collaboration, with local government at the decision making table, will generate a strong shared purpose and better decisions about how and where increased housing supply and affordability will be achieved in our communities. Across the local government sector, appetite for more homes, including social and affordable homes, especially in areas well-serviced by public and active transport with ready access to open space and public infrastructure, has never been stronger. Housing supply is not only a question of planning control. There are tens of thousands of approved planning permits across metropolitan Melbourne that are yet to begin constructed because of challenges in building finance and the rising costs of labour and materials. And many councils have already rezoned vast areas of well-positioned land for urban renewal and higher density housing. Councils have the clearest understanding of what makes each local community tick, and councils play a significant role in generating community support for inevitable changes to the built environment of local neighbourhoods. Check out the article in today’s The Age, which features quotes from our President Cr David Clark: https://lnkd.in/ggAWrKVH Patrick Fensham Sonya Kilkenny Infrastructure Victoria Harriet Shing Jacinta Allan Jonathan Spear Victorian Planning Authority Kelly Grigsby

NSW has a housing target requiring an average of 75,000 new homes a year for 5 years. At least 72,500 or 97% of those homes will have to be delivered by private providers. The $1 billion dollars in last nights Federal Budget to be given to state governments to support new housing developments is a step in the right direction. So too is the funding for important roads like Mamre Road in Western Sydney which is critical for the development of future employment lands close to where people live. A smaller share of GST for NSW, particularly while the state takes the lion share of new migration, however is a step in the wrong direction. This makes it harder to invest more in the infrastructure required to make creating homes more feasible and deliverable. Too much money is being used to subsidise a broken GST system that doesn’t reward efficiency in government and a commitment to improve economic productivity. We have a lot of work to do if we are going to deliver 75,000 new homes a year but I know UDIA NSW and its members are ready to collaborate with government to meet this challenge. Jacqueline Vozzo Gavin Melvin Chris Minns Daniel Mookhey Paul Scully Courtney Houssos Jo Haylen John Graham Steve Kamper Anoulack Chanthivong Kiersten Fishburn

UDIA National strongly supports the Government’s ongoing commitment to address the nation’s lack of housing supply, through the targeted strategies announced in tonight’s Budget,” said Col Dutton, UDIA National President. However, for the Government to reach its ambitious National Housing Accord target to build 1.2 million new homes over 5 years, 97% of its target will be delivered by private housing providers. They will need the support from all governments, if they are to significantly increase their delivery capacity, as they struggle to return to their pre-Covid productivity. Market-wide solutions will be necessary to tackle a range of fundamental problems, particularly at a time when completions are in freefall. These include chronic lack of development ready land, significant shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry, accelerated cost of construction materials and inhibited project finance, all of which are holding back projects.  UDIA National encourages the Government to keep a laser focus on the implementation of the initiatives announced in tonight’s Budget, to stabilise house prices and rents and ease the increasing cost of living pressures. Particularly important are those measures that enable our industry to build the homes for the people of Australia, so that they realise the dream of home ownership,” said Col Dutton. Our full media release can be found at this link https://lnkd.in/gZFYiuYD UDIA NSW, UDIA SA. UDIA NT, Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Victoria, UDIA Queensland, Urban Development Institute of Australia (WA)

Victorian councils understand the urgent need for all levels of government to address the deepening housing crisis in Australia. Because every single Victorian deserves access to affordable and suitable housing. We acknowledge that targets, as part of a range of responses, can be a useful tool in driving the creation of new homes in our State. But the road to target-driven outcomes must be paved with collaborative planning and the recognition of local realities. Today’s news that the State Government could remove planning powers from councils that fail to meet targets is worthy of discussion, but a more constructive idea is to recognise the value of partnership and collaboration.    Local governments hold invaluable local knowledge and insights that are an essential input into effective housing strategies. As the closest tier of government to the community, councils are uniquely positioned to translate housing targets into meaningful local developments that respect and enhance the character and needs of each area. We steadfastly believe the community is best served by a shared approach, where the State Government and councils work hand-in-glove to address the housing deficit together.  Stripping councils of their planning powers is not the solution. Instead, we should focus on strengthening the capabilities of local councils to work in line with the State Government’s objectives, bolstering their role in planning decisions and ensuring there is meaningful community engagement in the process. As we move forward, the MAV is committed to this partnership model as part of an approach that champions the expertise of local governments and nurtures the cooperative spirit that has always been present when we have solved big problems like this in the past. I invite the State Government to join us in ensuring a future where the creation of new housing is not just a mandated metric, but a collaborative effort between governments to get us out of the housing mess we’ve been in for far too long. #HousingCrisis #CommunityFirst #LocalGovernment #Victoria #UrbanPlanning #Collaboration

🚨 New analysis: "Missing Middle" sized housing projects receive the lowest approval rates from Councils. Our planning system is geared against what our city needs the most — middle-density housing. This doesn’t mean that Councils hate “middle” housing. What it does likely show is that our planning system is best navigated with the simplest of projects or when you have enough money to pay for numerous private planners to bulletproof your project. Whilst all the housing projects stuck in between are doomed to fail before they even start. If we want to unlock Melbourne's missing middle, our planning system must be consistent, certain and clear. However, despite what some have claimed, there is little data to suggest that the planning system has gotten any slower since 2015. However, as interest rates have skyrocketed, planning delays cost more and more. Before, our broken planning system was survivable — but now it’s terminal. To see more on this analysis, go to The Age piece below: https://lnkd.in/g_X6a4KA

YIMBY Melbourne makes a good observation about how much harder it is get an approval for a mid-sized development in the 5-50 dwelling range. I also note that projects at this scale tend to cost more per dwelling to construct than a larger one (to a point, so can be harder to stack up) . What they get wrong is suggesting that the data doesn't support the planning system has gotten slower. ❌ The error? Focusing exclusively on the planning permit itself as the data point. Planning permits generally take about the same time to process, on balance, because in most cases the developer will just push the button for failure to determine and go to VCAT. Particulary in standard residential #planning  zones. They haven't considered all the other elements that make up "planning" which aren't time limited statutory process with immediate right to go to an umpire, e.g.: ➡️Rezoning - no timeframes, no appeal process ➡️Endorsed plans - no limits on how long to approve from Councils ➡️Functional layout plans and engineering approvals (for subdivisions) - no time limits from Councils ➡️Ever-growing list of agency referrals (like Fire Rescue Victoria) ➡️Sevice authority offers - no enforced time limits or coordination (looking at you, Melbourne Water ) ➡️Cultural Heritage Management Plan approvals and associated works which are prerequisites to permits being issued (and planning clock doesn't start prior) ➡️Getting through the growing requirements of the building permit stage (Victorian Building Authority ) ➡️Post-completion compliance processes from Councils and authorities before issue of Statement of Compliance ➡️Title issue - only projects with 10+ new lots issued get priority etc. So when we talk about delays and time costing money, its the combination of all these things that is sending #development  projects to the wall. 🤔𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝘂𝘀) 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. https://lnkd.in/gyt8gsTh Mathew Dunckley Kieran Rooney Municipal Association of Victoria Department of Transport and Planning UDIA Victoria #housingsupply #missingmiddle #affordability

Australia's housing crisis requires urgent solutions. While prefabrication construction has been proposed as a fix, it's not without its challenges, let alone trucking the half houses along busy roads and the chaos that follows as special escorted requirements exist to clear traffic off the road with the approaching truck loaded with half a dwelling because of road traffic laws across Australia. In Australia, prefabrication construction is essentially a cottage industry, making it challenging to meet the staggering shortfall of over 1 million affordable and social dwellings required now, not to mention the additional 300,000 to 400,000 needed in the next 3 to 5 years. Transporting prefabricated homes across the country presents logistical issues, with half a dwelling requiring police or specialist services to warn oncoming traffic. Infill residential mid-rise apartments on surplus public land may be a more viable solution. Emulating London's policy of setting aside up to 50% of surplus land for affordable housing could be the answer. Additionally, a mandatory 30% affordable housing requirement in rezoned areas near public transport infrastructure could provide an immediate value capture. It's time for an inclusive policy setting that addresses Australia's housing crisis with urgency and social responsibility. The answer is scalable Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) in advanced modular construction platforms, which can be trucked to building sites in shipping containers with their own cranes on board and then assembled on site like "Lego" generally saves up to 75% in time, over slow inefficient custom construction, offering "Speed to Market." #advancedmodular #CLT #housingcrisis #sustainability

https://lnkd.in/eYpcYwQ3 Labour will seek to quickly boost housing supply as it blames the Tories for lower-than-expected projections for 200,000 new homes this year. Let me know your thoughts and how Sustainable Off-site Construction systems can assist in reaching the projected 200,000 new homes target

The government has set housing targets at an ambitious 370,000 home per annum. But latest data from Glenigan reveals that private housing starts on site fell 5% against the previous three-month period and plummeted by 32% on 2023 levels. So will Labour’s planning reforms deliver new homes - or just new planning permissions? Tim Foreman, Managing Director of Land and New Homes, Leaders Romans Group (LRG) comments, “The fact is that the housebuilding industry has a lot more to contend with since the halcyon days of 300,000 plus homes per year, which last occurred in the 1970s. “And the circumstances have changed considerably since then – developers had no affordable housing commitments, no Section 106, no biodiversity net gain… the list goes on. “It is encouraging that on the one hand, that the new Labour government clearly appreciates the important role that housebuilding plays in the wider economy. But on the other hand, it is adding to existing pressures by making demands such as 50% affordable housing and showing little interest in in providing incentives to kick-start the market – such as a new form of Help to Buy. “In the context of increased construction, financing and labour costs, some form of support is necessary, and the industry is looking to October’s Budget to provide this.” #AffordableHousing #Budget #Development #Housing #NewHomes #Planning