UDIA NSW has outlined recommendations for 20 priority actions for housing in the Illawarra Shoalhaven. Photo: UDIA NSW.
The state’s leading development industry body has recommended pillars, policies and priorities to address issues such as connectivity and housing in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, with its new report released while the government’s own approach for the region is on exhibition.
Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) NSW has put forward actions it believes could help the Illawarra Shoalhaven reach its housing potential, with infrastructure such as the Maldon-Dombarton Railway and West Dapto Western Ring Road among the projects it believes should be top of the agenda.
“This is the moment to get the future of the Illawarra Shoalhaven right,” UDIA NSW CEO Stuart Ayres said.
“As one of the state’s most important growth regions, housing must be at the centre of its future.”
The report outlines 20 actionable items broken up into policy priorities guided by the themes of connectivity, commonality and certainty.
Connectivity focuses on investment in region-defining enabling infrastructure and getting the housing density right.
It calls for a commitment from the state to fund the West Dapto Western Ring Road rather than a reliance on council funding out of the West Dapto Contributions Plan (WDCP) which the report says “subjects it to an uncertain funding pool and continued cost escalation”.
The UDIA also wants to see the establishment of a cross-government working group to develop an all-encompassing business case for the South West Illawarra Rail Line, otherwise known as the partially completed Maldon-Dombarton Railway.
“UDIA notes that this conversation has started many times but falls over due to a lack of strong policy entrepreneurship carrying the project beyond conceptualisation, with fears around the funding arrangements and likely patronage,” the report states.
“However, with Western Sydney entering a generation-defining period of growth, emphasised by the imminent opening of the Western Sydney International Airport, the time to invest in essential infrastructure capacity is now to allow both regions to fully leverage the benefits of better connected workforces, businesses and communities.”
UDIA NSW notes the importance of a new, integrated service-based public transport designed alongside long-term opportunities for an intra-region, mass transit corridor.
To address housing density concerns, the report calls for the expansion of the transport oriented development (TOD) and low and mid-rise (LMR) housing programs across the Illawarra, changes to pathways and payment policies, a review of the Apartment Design Guide and for the height limit to be increased to 25 metres in appropriate locations.
The report addresses the theme of commonality through plans for the region to operate as a more united front through the adoption of a more efficient planning framework and by unlocking housing diversity.
This includes recommendations such as the LG8 group working closely with industry on emerging opportunities for regional consistency in planning and development matters and rezoning all new urban release areas to 300 sqm minimum lot sizes with a long-term view to removing minimum lot sizes.
“Smaller lots are almost always more feasible to deliver where the topography suits,” the report states.
“Additionally, they typically sell first, supporting a project’s early cash flow.
“Despite supporting a smaller and less expensive product, homes delivered on smaller lot sizes do not need to compromise on valuable private amenities.
“Assuming the terrain/topography permits, a 300 sqm lot in a simple 30 m x 10 m arrangement can support a double garage, up to four bedrooms, and two living areas.”
The certainty component of the report focuses on creating an investment-ready region through certainty and confidence through strengthening social, affordable and market housing options and accelerating Nowra’s revitalisation.
“The central challenge for Nowra is not a lack of opportunity, but the lack of a coordinated framework to turn that opportunity into investment and development,” the report states.
“The risk is that positive initiatives continue to progress in isolation. Investment in the riverfront, transport, housing, infrastructure and public domain can each contribute to renewal, but their collective impact will be much greater if planned, funded and sequenced around a common vision.
“The next phase of Nowra’s renewal must move beyond individual initiatives towards a coordinated, whole-of-centre approach.”
The launch of UDIA NSW’s Unlocking the Illawarra-Shoalhaven: A Unified Voice for Regional Growth report coincides with the public exhibition of the NSW Government’s Illawarra-Shoalhaven Plan which aims to map out the strategic approach to investment in the region over the next two decades.
UDIA NSW commended the ambition of the plan and designed its report to work alongside it to help navigate the path to more than 117,000 more homes and 101,850 new jobs in an area that is expected to grow by 161,000 people in the next 20 years.
“Our report provides practical solutions for government, ensuring a shared pathway with industry to support unprecedented regional growth and unlock more homes,” Mr Ayres said.
“Heading into the 2027 NSW state election, the message is clear. Provide frameworks that back housing growth across regional NSW and enable regions like the Illawarra Shoalhaven to benefit from decades of prosperity.”
The UDIA NSW report is available on its website with the NSW Government’s draft Illawarra Shoalhaven Plan on public exhibition until 28 September.
