Clarence Valley Local Housing Strategy and Affordable Housing Policy

Published on 10 November 2023

Clarence Valley Council are currently reviewing the submissions on the draft Clarence Valley Local Housing Strategy and draft Affordable Housing Policy, which were received during the public exhibition period, between Friday 27 October and Friday 22 December 2023. Council will consider all submissions and proposed changes to the draft documents. It is expected this will occur at a Council meeting within the first quarter of 2024.

The drafts have been developed in collaboration with local industry representatives, government agencies, community housing providers and others.
The draft Clarence Valley Local Housing Strategy guides future decision-making about where new houses should be built and the types of housing our community needs. It identifies opportunities to amend local planning controls to create capacity for an additional 1,730 dwellings in the Clarence Valley LGA, with capacity for 1025 additional dwellings in the Upper Clarence area and capacity for 705 additional dwellings in the Lower Clarence area.

The draft Affordable Housing Policy supports the delivery of diverse and affordable housing to meet the needs of Clarence Valley’s current and future residents. The draft policy will improve Council’s ability to secure more diverse and affordable housing through development approvals and rezoning applications.

The draft housing strategy has been informed by the latest information on population growth, an audit of supply and demand, and modelling of future expected demand for different types of housing.

"The research shows we have higher rental stress, lower incomes and smaller households than the state average," CVC Manager Development and Land Use Planning Murray Lane said.

"The Clarence Valley does have a good amount of zoned residential land, with the market typically delivering single dwelling housing, which does not always meet the range of housing needs of the community.

“While Council does not control the delivery of housing, Council can facilitate more diverse and affordable housing through positive local planning. The draft strategy and policy include a range of proposed actions to work with the private sector, government and community to unlock and accelerate affordable housing supply.

"The draft housing strategy includes a range of ideas about changing zoning, height limits and planning controls, mostly focussed on encouraging targeted infill development in major centres located close to existing infrastructure and services."

The draft documents were available for public comment until 4pm Friday 22 December 2023. You can view the draft documents at : https://www.clarence.nsw.gov.au/On-exhibition/Draft-Local-Housing-Strategy-and-Draft-Affordable-Housing-Policy

NSW councils are required to prepare Local Housing Strategies in accordance with Department of Planning and Environment’s Local Housing Strategy Guideline 2018 and progresses the Clarence Valley Local Strategic Planning Statement. This project is funded by the NSW Government.