Griffith City Council adopted the Griffith Housing Strategy at the 26 November 2019 Council Meeting.
The strategy is a detailed analysis of the current state of housing availability in Griffith undertaken by Dr Judith Stubbs and suggests methods of increasing access to diverse housing options for key target groups in the City experiencing housing stress.
General Manager, Brett Stonestreet said, “Council was really pleased with the interest and number of submissions received for the Housing Strategy. Council has received letters of support from all levels of government who are willing to work with Council to increase the mix of housing in Griffith. Council has already started forming partnerships to increase affordable housing stock.”
The Housing Strategy determined that Griffith is under-supplied with smaller dwellings and requires a larger supply of 1 and 2 bedroom strata dwellings. The projected increase in the number of dwellings required is 1,744 dwellings by 2036.
To enable suitable development, Council is currently in the process of amending the Development Control Plan (DCP) to facilitate the development of diverse, affordable and lower cost housing by including amendments to Floor Space Ratios, providing for reduced parking requirements for Residential flat buildings and Multi dwelling housing. The removal of height restrictions and reduction of private open space per ground floor will also be applied to dwelling requirements in the CBD.
The Lake Wyangan Master Plan is also underway and will include adequate sized lots for multi-dwelling housing, as well as small and large residential lots. Council will also seek to encourage increased development of residential flat buildings through amendments to the Local Environmental Plan (LEP).
Other Affordable Housing options and initiatives include the introduction of New Generation Boarding Houses (which are already permissible), incentivizing the construction Granny Flats (Secondary Dwellings) and potential contribution concessions for affordable housing.
Copies of the Griffith Housing Strategy and Background Paper are available on Council’s website www.griffith.nsw.gov.au
Council welcomes any enquiries to contact Council’s Economic Development or Sustainable Development team on (02) 6962 8100.
