Dear Editor,
The Draft Town Structure Plans for the towns in Hepburn Shire and for the rural areas are a very detailed examination of what is here now and what is or may be needed in the future. Safe Place, a community group concerned about responding to the current need for more affordable housing in our Shire, is reviewing the structure plans in the hope that they will lead to concrete actions – that is, to more affordable housing, soon.  The following commentary is therefore on the specific area of affordable housing – not on the broader aspects of the structure plans, some of which are controversial.
Hepburn Shire has an Affordable Housing Policy, an Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan, and now, Draft Structure Plans. The Structure Plans take the long view, and that’s appropriate. The plans state that ‘Council is committed to facilitating towns with housing choice and diversity’, and we know from conversations with councillors that affordable housing is extremely important to them, as they know it is important to the community.
Each structure plan has a key theme (7.1) of Housing, with a specific objective. For example, the objective for Daylesford and Hepburn Springs is: ‘To ensure housing is affordable, sensitively and sustainably designed, and responsive to existing and future community needs.’
Actions following from the structure planning process will lead to some changes to the planning scheme, which could, and hopefully will, make the provision of affordable housing easier to achieve.
But what can we as a community and Council do to act on affordable housing now, and when will we do it? The structure plans will provide a valuable basis for planning decisions but should not become a substitute for the actions that need to be taken now, for those community members who need housing. The Shire’s Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan should be implemented in concrete ways, both through the structure plans and in the current ways that planning operates. If the structure plans recommend infill development, let’s define specific ways to act on that now, to make it easy for this to happen.
Among the steps which need to be taken in the short term are:
- Actions that lead to new small homes in our towns for those who need them now.
- Specific incentives to encourage developers to provide affordable housing in our towns.
- Most importantly, the appointment of a well-qualified Housing Officer, which has been shown in a neighbouring shire to provide focus and momentum to the implementation of the strategy.
The need is obvious and the need is now. Planning is essential, but so is current action. Let’s put some of those actions in the structure plans, and put some immediate actions on the table of Council and the planning department.
Mary-Faeth Chenery,
President, Safe Place Homes Inc.
Advocacy for Social and Affordable Housing in Hepburn Shire
