Homes NSW is today announcing:
- A review of the Homes NSW social housing portfolio across the Wollongong LGA to find opportunities to create more and better homes to reduce the priority social housing waitlist in the Illawarra.
- Homes NSW will continue to work closely with Wollongong City Council on a rezoning proposal for the Gwynneville social housing estate to be submitted soon. The proposal will go on public exhibition and community feedback will be welcomed. If approved, the rezoning application will help pave the way for delivery of more social, affordable and private homes, as well as more student housing.
- Homes NSW is working with key stakeholders in the community including Council to investigate the potential to renew the Bellambi social housing estate with resident and community consultation activities to commence soon. Any future renewal project would look to deliver on all types of housing including social, affordable and private homes as well as supporting community facilities and infrastructure.
- Any property redevelopment activities that proceed in Wollongong would create housing that better suit residents needs with well-located one- and two-bedroom units to match the current needs of the priority waitlist, compared to the current aged and mostly larger bedroom homes.
- Planning for any housing renewal projects will be done in collaboration with social housing residents, local community organisations, Wollongong City Council, the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council, and the community housing sector.
- If any future plans to redevelop social housing sites in the Wollongong LGA were to proceed all eligible residents can be assured that they would have the right to return to a home in the former site once complete.
- Later this month Housing Trust will also start construction on a mid-rise block of 27 units behind Wollongong Hospital, which includes 12 social homes, 8 affordable homes and 7 private homes. The project is partly funded by Homes NSW and Wollongong Council.
The review into Wollongong social housing comes following a survey of social housing residents in the Wollongong LGA, completed in August 2023, which indicated that safety (91%), access to public transport (75%) and community facilities/services (74%) were of key importance to residents.
Homes NSW Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Pinkstone said:
“We have a housing crisis in NSW and part of that challenge is the lack of supply. That’s why Homes NSW is exploring every avenue to renew and grow the social housing portfolio in the region to meet the changing needs of current and future residents and to ensure they have a safe and secure place to call home.
“Engagement with tenants is a key focus for Homes NSW and that’s why we have already asked social housing residents in Wollongong about their challenges and lived experiences to ensure their priorities of feeling safe, having easy access to public transport and shared community facilities and services are met now and into the future.
“We’re in the early investigation stages but we’re talking with Council to see what opportunities there may be to renew the Bellambi social housing estate, and we are close to submitting a rezoning application for Gwynneville to deliver a greater diversity and supply of homes that better suit the needs of residents.”
Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said:
“These aging properties were built decades ago and are no longer fit for purpose. Under the former government they have been falling apart with significant ongoing maintenance costs, which provides a great opportunity for renewal.
“Our tenants are at the centre of everything we do, and we want to assure them that no decisions have been made yet and that any plans to redevelop would not happen without consulting with the community, as well as providing all residents with a right to return.”
