Urban Taskforce gives transitional housing proposal by Hills Shire Council green light

The proposal by The Hills Shire Council to provide transitional housing through bonus floor space has appropriate incentives to encourage developers.

The Mayor of the Hills Shire Council, Clr Yvonne Keane, has championed an approach to transitional housing that has received the full support of her Council.

Transitional housing is to assist victims of domestic violence, by providing access to a home while they are rebuilding their lives.

The Council proposal is to encourage developers to provide a single apartment for a 10 year period by allowing two extra apartments above the current planning limits.

This approach is similar to the Urban Taskforce proposal to providing affordable housing for a ten year period through an uplift in floor space and height.

The development industry can contribute subsidised housing over a ten year period if the incentives for extra floor space are sufficient to make this economically viable.

A number of Urban Taskforce members who are developing apartment projects in The Hills Shire Council area including Sekisui, Mirvac, Aqualand, Dyldam and PAYCE have expressed their support for the transitional housing proposal. Major developers like PAYCE have run the numbers over the proposal and believe it is a viable approach to help provide the subsidised housing that Council is encouraging.

Chris Johnson is chief executive officer of property development industry group Urban Taskforce and can be contacted here.