Increased infrastructure investment is needed to fast-track the housing growth in the LGA, according to City of Newcastle (CN).
It comes as council pleads with the NSW Government to significantly escalate its outlay into critical groundwork projects to help it meet the ambitious targets, which have been set by the state.
Newcastle was allocated the highest in the Hunter when the five-year plan was released in May 2024.
CN’s executive director of planning and environment Michelle Bisson said the forecast modelling did not consider barriers in the market that affected completion rates.
“Over the past decade, we’ve been laying the foundations for future growth, planning for higher density living and diverse housing options, and creating frameworks to deliver more streamlined and efficient development assessments,” she explained.
“This placed us on track to exceed the long-term housing predictions under the NSW Government’s Hunter Regional Plan 2041.
“But, they revised ours last year, compressing 62% of the previous 20-year target into just five, disproportionately front-loading delivery expectations.
“The methodology used is based on theoretical housing capacity modelling without considering the economic and environmental constraints impacting delivery.
“While local councils play a key role in facilitating housing growth through zoning, development assessment and infrastructure planning, they’re not responsible for construction and have little control over delivery.
“There are currently more than 2,000 dwellings in Newcastle that have been approved but not yet built.
“Council has no ability to make a developer start construction.
“The pace and scale of housing delivery is primarily driven by market conditions, including financial viability, labour costs, provision of infrastructure, workforce availability and investor confidence.”
Newcastle’s target of 11,100 completed dwellings by 2029 almost doubles the previous mark.
This equates to an average of 2,220 dwellings needing to be built per year.
Under the Hunter Regional Plan 2041 target, an average of 940 dwellings were required to be constructed annually.
During the peak construction periods of 2016 to 2018, and 2020 to 2021, CN averaged approval of 1,364 and 1,129 dwellings per year respectively.
Councillors will consider a report at this week’s meeting that outlines the challenges being faced by City of Newcastle.
“Current trends and market conditions indicate that achieving the revised 2029 target is extremely unlikely without a significant injection of funding for enabling infrastructure by the NSW Government,” Ms Bisson said.
“Our best chance would be through the Broadmeadow Place Strategy, a shared vision developed in collaboration with the NSW Government that has the potential to deliver 20,000 new homes for 40,000 people.
“Consideration should also be given to the parameters around a range of infrastructure funding programs that City of Newcastle has been excluded from… or disadvantaged by.
“For example, there is more than half a billion in government community infrastructure funding that only Sydney councils are eligible to receive.
“Newcastle and Lake Macquarie are not entitled to even one dollar of this.
“The report to council recommends sustained advocacy to the NSW Government for a funding model that recognises planning performance, as well as the reinstatement of the Mine Grouting Fund to unlock stalled development.
“We will continue to leverage every available tool to eliminate barriers and streamline delivery pathways and work with the NSW Government to secure the long-term supply of well-located housing across the city.”
For more news stories:
- New playgrounds swing into action across Newcastle
- Capturing what’s left: Hunter bushland faces uncertain future
- Lord Mayor takes leave of absence due to ‘serious medical condition’
Get all the latest Newcastle news, sport, real estate, entertainment, lifestyle and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Newcastle Weekly Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
