Hi, I'm Clare Richards, Housing Solutions Broker, at Mount Alexander Shire Council.

Keep reading for an update on some of Council's recent work in the affordable housing area.

One of my tasks as Housing Solutions Broker is to advocate for more affordable housing in our community.

With that objective in mind, I attended the National Regional Housing Summit in Canberra in early February.

Organised by the Regional Australia Institute, the forum brought together leaders from local, state and federal government, along with representatives from industry, peak bodies and the not-for-profit sector to discuss solutions to regional Australia’s housing needs.

Gatherings like the summit are really valuable opportunities to have the voices and needs of our community heard by State and Federal Governments.

While I was in Canberra, I had conversations with a number of senior bureaucrats and politicians about what we need in our rural communities, and came away from those meetings with the feeling that we were listened to.

Last year, Council called for community feedback on a proposal to increase affordable housing in Maldon and Newstead for older people.

We held face-to face meetings with groups and stakeholder organisations, community information sessions, and there was also an online and hardcopy survey.

From that input, we prepared a report for Councillors outlining the various factors to consider.

At the December Council meeting, Councillors reviewed the report and unanimously decided to proceed with the proposal to lease land at 10 Steele Street, Maldon and 2A Canrobert Street, Newstead to Wintringham Housing.

By way of background, Wintringham Housing are a housing provider who deliver secure housing for people over 50 years of age who are on the Victorian Housing Register priority waitlist.

Following Councillors approval in December, Wintringham Housing have been exploring funding opportunities to support the provision of affordable housing at the nominated locations.

While there is a long way to go before there are new homes in the ground, this is progress towards delivering more affordable homes for older people in our community, which is very welcome.

Council is working on a number of different projects to increase affordable housing, and we know our community are interested in doing something to help too.

There are a range of community contribution ideas emerging across the state and country, giving people a new way to contribute to a possible solution.

One of the ideas that Council is considering is the possibility of assisting our community to establish a not-for-profit philanthropic affordable housing trust.

An overview of this idea is on our website - www.shape.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/affordable-housing.

We've had some support for this idea from community members already, and we're looking forward to engaging in more conversations about this throughout the year.

In October last year Councillors voted to progress towards delivery of medium-density affordable housing on Council land at 30A and 65 Templeton Street, Castlemaine.

The decision was made after Council reviewed the results of an-depth community consultation period in which 81% of people supported the proposal.

The community consultation period involved walking around the proposed sites on Templeton Street and talking to nearby households about the initiative, and also anyone who requested direct contact.

There was also opportunities for people to contribute input through our engagement website, www.shape.mountalexander.vic.gov.au, in-person, and through mail.

Following Councillors decision to progress the project, we've been working in partnership with housing provider Haven Home Safe, to find the most sustainable funding model.

This process is still underway, with more funding opportunities opening up which are being pursued.

I'll keep you updated as this partnership progresses.

We're conscious that there's a dilemma for older community members who are interested in downsizing, but unable to due to a lack of available established smaller dwellings in the shire.

Over the coming months we'll be reaching out to older residents in the community about this issue. We'll be looking to catch-up with senior citizens groups, church groups, U3A's, men's sheds, and any groups where there are older residents to workshop ideas.

If you're part of a community group or organisation which has members who would be interested in providing input later this year on this issue, get in touch at affordablehousing@mountalexander.vic.gov.au.

If you're keen to find out more about Council's policy for housing affordability, visit https://www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/Council/Council-information/Policies-publications-and-strategies/Council-policies/Housing-Access-and-Equity-Policy.

The policy outlines our commitment to ensuring there is housing that meets the needs of all resident in our shire.

It also outlines the actions that we're taking to facilitate access to affordable and adaptable housing that meets the needs of our community.

We know many people are interested in this work, so I hope this update has been useful.

We hope to share updates every two months, or earlier if a project or opportunity arises.

Thank you again for your interest in this area. If you want to spread the word, encourage people to click the 'Follow' button at www.shape.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/affordable-housing to receive these updates.

Clare Richards
Housing Solutions Broker, Mount Alexander Shire Council.

• $430 is the median weekly rent in the shire
• The availability of affordable rentals has declined by 20% since 2015
• 47% of shire households are in rental stress
• At least 14% of shire households are in mortgage stress
• 5,696 more people will call the shire home by 2046
• More than 700 households in the shire have an unmet need for affordable housing.