Wollongong must build thousands more homes to meet 'difficult' state target

On Wednesday, May 29, Premier Chris Minns released new housing targets for local government areas in Sydney, the Illawarra, Central Coast and the Hunter.

Planning minister and Wollongong MP Paul Scully said the targets would be "challenging" for the region, but ambition was needed as the state and the Illawarra confront a crippling housing crisis.

"I believe, over five years, that collectively we stand a very strong chance of achieving the targets," he said.

The targets are part of a suite of reforms the NSW government is rolling out to increase the supply of housing.

Each of the LGAs in the Illawarra will have to build more homes than they have in the planning pipeline by 2029, however Wollongong has been given the largest target.

The NSW government has set Wollongong a target of 9200 new homes to be completed by 2029, and says just over half of these dwellings already in the pipeline.

The difference will be made up of new homes that can be built thanks to changes made in the NSW government's planning reforms.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the city could meet its target, but the challenge would be in finding tradies and materials to build the houses and apartments.

"We are under very constrained supply at the moment, so I don't know how that's going to be achieved," he said.

Property Council Illawarra director Michelle Guido said industry and government could deliver the homes.

"With a total of 18,800 homes to be delivered across the region by 2029, we urge councils to work closely with industry to ensure these new targets are met and clear the backlog of DAs stuck in the system for more than six months," she said.

Currently, the bulk of the new homes forecast for Wollongong are located in greenfield areas, as part of the West Dapto urban growth area.

The Minns government's housing reforms tilt this balance back in favour of infill development, particularly around train stations and urban centres.

Across the state, 82 per cent of the housing targets will come from infill areas, with 18 per cent to come from greenfield locations, the government said.

"I've talked a long time about the need to ensure we have a fairer balance of housing across the state - so housing is built close to already established transport links, schools and hospitals," Mr Minns said.

Shellharbour must build 3800 new homes by 2029 under the targets.

Close to 90 per cent of its target number of homes are already planned, approved or under construction - the highest proportion of the three LGAs in the Illawarra.

But the target represents a 12.5 per cent increase on the 30,430 existing homes in the LGA and meeting this will be a challenge, mayor Chris Homer said.

"It's a lot to provide in five years," Cr Homer said, adding there were issues within the construction sector to contend with.

But Shellharbour was in a good position, he said, because a lot of urban releases were already in motion, particularly at Calderwood and Tullimbar.

"So we don't have to start from ground zero... We've been looking around our city centre here, and around the Stockland area, and we've been having discussions about land around that area that can be used in the housing mix," Cr Homer said.

He said creating a precinct around the new Shellharbour Hospital site in Dunmore was also in the council's sights.

Kiama will have to build hundreds of new homes in the new targets, with the LGA's target set at 900 new homes by 2029. Already, more than three quarters of these homes are planned.

A spokesperson for Kiama Council welcomed "clarity" on the new targets.

"Kiama Council is currently developing our Growth and Housing strategy, which will help us identify areas for development and growth in our LGA," a council spokesperson said.

To encourage councils to meet or surpass their housing targets, the NSW government is offering incentives of up to $200 million in grants for councils to fund more infrastructure such as parks, streets and footpaths.

"While these targets are required to be released, the government has already acknowledged that they will be difficult to meet," Mr Minns said.

Mr Scully said the targets were "fairer" and targeted growth to areas of jobs and transport.

"We have got to be ambitious, we have got a real problem to confront, geographic inequities, inequities between and within generations, and if we don't start to address these we end up tearing at the social fabric."

Chief executive officer of the community housing provider the Housing Trust, Michele Adair, said it was "wonderful" that the government had set housing targets for each LGA, which was something the organisation had long advocated for.

But with local government elections looming in September, she is not overly confident incumbent and hopeful councillors would instigate much change to develop and implement plans to deliver new housing within the next 12 to 18 months.

"Which just means more families and more single people will be either at risk of homelessness or indeed become homeless in the time that we're waiting for our councils to take decisive action," Ms Adair said.

She said increasing supply alone was not enough to make housing affordable.

"So the Housing Trust is still strongly calling on all of our local councils, and indeed the state government, to require that 20 per cent of all additional housing is secured as social or affordable rental housing, where rents are not only reflecting of a discount to market, but are indeed capped at 30 per cent of household income," Ms Adair said.

"That's the only way that we're actually going to be able to make a difference to affordability."