The lack of affordable housing in the St George region is on the agenda for Georges River Council which will work with St George Community Housing (SGCH) to tackle the problem.
The council has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SGCH which is the region’s leading supplier of affordable housing to look at programs and events to promote affordable housing stock for low income households and key workers in the community.
Georges River Council mayor Kevin Greene announced the MOU in a mayoral minute at the August 27 council meeting.
St George Community Housing provides accommodation for 8,900 people in 4,700 properties across the Sydney metropolitan region.
They provide two main housing products - social housing and affordable housing.
In addition to their core housing services, SGCH provides a number of initiatives to improve the lives of tenants including training, education, employment and community engagement programs.
Georges River councillors were briefed by SGCH recently on working together to assist the residents of Georges River through providing suitable social and affordable housing and related events for the benefit of local residents.
“Where appropriate, the council will consider SGCH as a partner of choice for social and affordable housing and work collaboratively to provide social and affordable housing programs for the benefits of residents in the Georges River LGA,” Cr Greene said.
“This commitment will be non-binding and non-exclusive, however given SGCH’s role as the leading provider of affordable housing in the Georges River area I consider it appropriate to demonstrate to our community the council’s commitment to the supply of local affordable housing.
“SGCH’s belief is that it is only when individuals have opportunities to settle and create a home that they can think about other parts of their lives and can access other services and opportunities that will help them attain their aspirations,” he said.
Last year, Georges River Council decided to will look at preparing an Affordable Rental Housing Policy for the local government area.
The move was the idea of Councillor Nick Katris.
He asked that the policy identify and assess the housing issues in the Georges River Council LGA and identify the mechanisms to increase the supply of affordable housing for households on low to moderate incomes in housing stress.
He also called for the policy to be included the council’s planning framework including Local Environmental Plans, Development Control Plans, Voluntary Planning Agreements and Section 94 developer contributions to increase the supply of affordable rental housing in the area.
