Unlocking barriers to the delivery of housing is a core shared priority of the Hunter JO. To inform our focus and progress activity in this important area, we hosted a workshop with planning and economic development managers and specialists from across the member councils in March.

This event shared insights from councils for addressing key barriers to the delivery of housing, with participants sharing valuable insights and potential solutions to help shape advocacy positions and other regional responses to the shared challenges identified.

Hunter JO representatives also participated in Lake Macquarie City Council’s Housing Forum in early April, which brought together a wide range of stakeholders including developers, social housing providers, planners, politicians and local and state government representatives.

Some of the key takeaways from these two events that will inform our regional work moving forward include:

• Integrated planning between State and Local Government, with transparent infrastructure projects and timelines, is key to understanding where the focus on housing supply should occur.
• Financial support is required for local government enabling infrastructure such as roads, drainage, and water infrastructure to unlock the barriers to housing.
• The cost of construction materials and reduced return on investment is significantly impacting the feasibility of undertaking new construction projects
• Increasing Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) e.g modular homes could reduce costs, accelerate housing delivery, expand and diversify the housing supply workforce, and provide broader economic opportunities by attracting new industries to our region.
• We need to demonstrate the benefits and increase the social acceptance of higher density living and its contribution to creating vibrant walkable towns and cities.
• A more strategic regional approach to the planning and assessment of biodiversity values has the potential to improve both housing supply and local and regional biodiversity conservation outcomes.

Lake Macquarie City Council’s Housing Forum