It’s not hard to see why an extra 7000 people would want to call Kiama home. Photo: Jon Harris.
The Illawarra will be home to an extra 100,000 people by 2041, according to projections for the region, and they’re all going to need somewhere to live.
With housing stock across the area struggling to keep up with demand, at least 58,000 more homes will need to be built in the next 15 years.
About 7000 of those extra people are expected to call the Kiama municipality home.
They won’t just need houses, but roads, health care, schools and shops.
To look at how the need will be met, Kiama Council, in partnership with the Kiama Business Network, will host a local housing strategy information session breakfast on Friday 11 April at 7:30 am.
The information session is part of the council’s consultation work on their Draft Local Housing Strategy, which is on public exhibition until 27 April.
The session will feature a presentation from the council on the housing strategy and a local housing expert discussion.
Kiama Mayor Cameron McDonald encouraged the community and other stakeholders to register for the free information session and breakfast, which will be held at The Sebel.
“The five-year housing target for Kiama is 900 additional dwellings by 2029,” Cr McDonald said.
“That’s why we’ve developed a local housing strategy.
“This strategy will help our community manage this growth on our terms while helping us get the support we need, especially from the NSW Government for the associated infrastructure such as roads and schools.”
Kiama Council Director of Planning, Environment and Communities, Edward Paterson, said the strategy identified where, how and why growth would occur within the municipality, and the need to carefully and appropriately manage the projected growth.
“A local housing strategy is essential for a considered approach to development in our municipality, ensuring that proposals put forward are evaluated using an established set of planning criteria,” Mr Paterson said.
