A new plan to increase the rate and diversity of new houses in Townsville has been endorsed at Council’s Ordinary Meeting.
The Local Housing Action Plan outlines actions that Council can take together with partners like the development industry and the State Government to support delivery of housing for Townsville.
Mayor Troy Thompson said stakeholders were essential for the plan to succeed.
“The Local Housing Action Plan will put our city in good stead for the future as we continue to see a surge in our population,” Cr Thompson said.
“All three tiers of government are needed to deliver infrastructure to support housing.”
The plan includes four key pillars:
- Infrastructure and amenity to support planned urban growth and infill housing areas achieving their potential
- Planning and regulation to support accelerated delivery of new housing, especially infill housing
- Advocacy, working closely with partners, on funding, tax, insurance and social housing policies and priorities
- Social, affordable and workforce accommodation that meets housing demands that cannot be met without targeted housing delivery
Cr Thompson said as the largest city in Northern Australia, Townsville’s economy and population were expected to continue growing and expanding the scale and diversity of employment, education and lifestyle opportunities available to existing and future residents, creating a strong need for more housing supply.
“The Local Housing Action Plan sets out to increase the rate of new housing delivery from around 700 to at least 1,200 new homes each year, to increase the proportion of new housing delivered as infill, and to maintain Townsville’s affordability advantage relative to capital city housing markets,” he said.
