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One Gippsland welcomes 175 social and affordable homes investment to address housing crisis for vulnerable residents

One Gippsland welcomed the Victorian government's announcement of 175 new social and affordable homes in Gippsland, addressing urgent housing needs for vulnerable residents amid a housing crisis.

By news@gippsland - 29th October 2024 - Back to News

One Gippsland today welcomed a Victorian government announcement that 175 social and affordable homes would be built across Gippsland as part of its $1 billion Regional Housing Fund. Sixty-five homes will be built in East Gippsland and Wellington shires and 110 will be built across Latrobe City, Baw Baw, South Gippsland and Bass Coast shires.

Gippsland's high rates of family violence and homelessness drive demand for social housing, with 65 homes planned for East Gippsland and Wellington shires and 110 for surrounding areas

Tackling housing crisis

One Gippsland spokesperson and CEO of Wellington Shire David Morcom said the investment would help to address the need for homes for the region's most vulnerable people. "The housing crisis is real and it's here in Gippsland. Unfortunately, it's the most vulnerable members of our community who are suffering most: people escaping domestic violence and those without somewhere to call home," Mr Morcom said.

"Gippsland has some of the highest rates of family violence and homelessness in Victoria and these are key contributors to the high demand for social housing across our six municipalities," Mr Morcom said.

Addressing housing demand

There were 3,945 social housing applicants from Gippsland on the Victorian Housing Register in March 2022, including 2,268 priority access applicants. However, the total number of social and public homes in Gippsland dropped by 0.4 percent from June 2019 to June 2022 to 4,775 dwellings.

"Right now, there are 540 new social housing homes under construction or completed in Gippsland. With another 175 promised, we are making some progress towards meeting the growing demand for social housing," Mr Morcom said.

Boosting regional planning

Mr Morcom also welcomed the state government's announcement of the Regional Planner Cadetship Program to help speed up planning processes and approvals for regional and rural councils. "Shortages of skilled council planning officers are a key factor holding back development and impacting housing supply. Councils are keen to move projects forward faster, but need access to qualified professionals to make this happen," said Mr. Morcom.

"While we acknowledge the Victorian government's recent initiatives to address the housing crisis, significant action is still needed to tackle ongoing workforce shortages in the Gippsland region. We will continue to advocate for swift solutions to these challenges," he added.

"We commend the Victorian government's commitment to addressing this critical issue and look forward to collaborating on further strategies to increase housing supply and meet the needs of our communities," Mr. Morcom concluded.

Pictures from One Gippsland website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com