Plans to build thousands of new housing units across Melbourne and Sydney have been delayed amid the housing crisis.
Key points:There are more than 2,000 empty properties across the stateThe plans are to be completed in 2018The Government has said it will take action to help people get on the housing ladderThe plans were due to be announced at a press conference on Tuesday but have been put on hold amid concerns over the availability of land for the buildings to be built.
A spokesman for the Planning Department said it was “very disappointing” the planning agency was delaying the announcement.
“We are committed to building the new homes as soon as possible, but there is a need to review the current land use planning for those properties,” the spokesman said.
“If the planning approval is delayed then we will take appropriate action to support people to get on their housing ladder.”
The spokesman added that the Government would be taking action “to ensure the public has a better understanding of what we have done in the past to help improve affordability in our region”.
“This will include making sure the public is aware of what has happened over the past few years in terms of vacant properties,” he said.
Mr Andrews has previously said the Government is taking action to “help people get onto their housing and they need to get off their housing”.
The housing crisis has seen a record of 3,000 properties being built on the outskirts of the city and around the inner suburbs.
In July, he announced he would build 400 new homes on a $10 million land purchase from a developer.
The Government is now looking at how to address some of the housing issues, including the availability and accessibility of land.
The spokesperson said the Planning Office was now looking to review some of those issues, and there would be “some adjustments” to the planning process to ensure that there were more affordable homes in the future.
“That’s something we’re working on,” he added.
Topics:housing-industry,community-and-society,housing,social-development,planning,government-and–politics,planetary-development-and‐management,business-economics-and,australia
