City of Perth backs affordability for property
The City of Perth Council has responded to a Department of Planning discussion paper by asking that affordable housing be considered an essential basic infrastructure to be provided by the State Government.
In their submission, the council noted that affordable housing was vital to the social and economic wellbeing of the city and that government intervention on a continued and sustained basis is a necessary step.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi noted that the Planning Provisions For Affordable Housing discussion paper has been welcomed by the council, and that they have support for the proposal that local governments use a mix of planning measures to facilitate development for affordable dwellings.
“There is clear evidence that housing affordability problems are persistent and worsening in Western Australia,” Scaffidi said.
“Analysis of the 2011 Census indicates higher levels of rental and mortgage stress in both low and moderate income households."
She noted that the council has been promoting affordable housing, having developed a 48-unit complex in Goderich Street, East Perth. It opened earlier this year, and is fully tenanted at 80% of the market rate.
“We now encourage the WA Planning Commission to consider having a higher proportion of affordable housing on State Government-owned land over and above the current 15 per cent," she said.
Higher densities and greater diversity through strategies such as infill, strategic areas and fringe areas, would assist in the delivery of affordable dwellings, she said.
The council has already changed the City Planning Scheme to increase the density in an attempt to start working on this shift.
