The state government has announced funding for social housing at nine sites across regional Victoria including $2.1 million for six new homes in Daylesford. The local houses will be built as part of the Middleton Field development.
More than $17 million has been allocated to build 55 new social homes across regional Victoria as part of the governments Social Housing Growth Fund. The funding is part of the $5.3 billion Big Housing Build program with $1.25 billion dedicated to regional Victoria.
This funding is independent of the $1 billion fund for regional housing announced at the time of the Commonwealth Games cancellation. The state government is still working through details of the distribution of that additional funding and an announcement is expected later in the year.
The development at Middleton Field fulfils the developer’s commitment to include social housing in the development which will eventually include over 60 homes.
These social housing projects are typically a three-way partnership between the state government, a developer, in this case Hygge Property, and a community housing provider which has not yet been identified for the Daylesford development. Homes Victoria oversees these partnerships.
The involvement of Hepburn Shire Council is limited to considering the planning application for Middleton Field which included the developer’s commitment to the inclusion of social housing.
“We know there’s demand for social and affordable housing in regional Victoria and that’s why we’re getting on with the job and delivering these new homes,” said the Premier, Daniel Andrews. “The Big Housing Build is a historic investment in housing and a historic investment in regional Victoria – these projects give more people a place to live and a foundation to build a better life.”
The latest funding has been shared across seven local government areas – Wodonga, Latrobe, Mildura, Moira, Alpine, Indigo and Hepburn – for nine new housing projects, which come in addition to the $219 million and 683 new homes invested in regional social housing projects in 2022.
The project sites have been chosen because they have the most critical demand and are close to services residents will need, with work to start through the remainder of 2023 as planning and other approvals are obtained.
Since the start of the Big Housing Build in 2020, more than 7,600 homes have been completed or are underway, and more than 2,800 households have either moved or are getting ready to move into brand new homes.
