The NSW Government must outlay $420 million in infrastructure investment to support the unlocking of 30,400 homes in the Lower Hunter.
That’s according to the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA), which released its Building Blocks Report for the region on Thursday 12 September.
The organisation, who partnered with ADW Johnson on the data, unveiled where, how and the costs required to meet the five-year timeframe of the Housing Accord Target (HAT).
However, nearly half of the funding required would go to improving the state road network.
“The Hunter is a great place to live and work,” UDIA NSW CEO Stuart Ayres said.
“But, the ability to build a home or new business will only get harder without further investment in enabling infrastructure.
“That includes upgraded or new state roads, local roads, water, sewer and power infrastructure – the essential building blocks needed to get more houses delivered.
“This investment of $420 million, or just $14,000 per new dwelling, will pay for itself.
“However, we must rethink our infrastructure funding model and have government make an upfront investment in the infrastructure required to unlock housing with the contribution coming after the housing is delivered.”
The Lower Hunter Building Blocks Report’s findings show every local government area (LGA) in the region has a deficit of infrastructure funding that will impact their ability to achieve their HAT.
UDIA and ADW Johnson identified the specific framework required and its cost for all major greenfield housing and employment land sites in the Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Newcastle and Port Stephens LGAs.
“An upfront government investment now will be more than recouped through future developer contributions and state revenue like stamp duty, land tax and payroll taxes, which only accrue to the government when new homes are built,” Mr Ayres said.
“The alternative is government’s business as usual approach of waiting years for developer contributions to accumulate before there is enough available to start funding a handful of these housing enabling projects.
“Sadly, that’s clearly not delivering homes at the speed that communities need them.”
The report also shows that another $83 million is needed to support 626 hectares of employment land that could deliver 30,000 new jobs for the Lower Hunter.
In total, it details $1.2 billion over two decades for enabling infrastructure to support 54,000 homes.
Mr Ayres joined NSW chief transport planner Simon Hunter and Jason Yeo at an event at Merewether to discuss the Lower Hunter Building Blocks Report.
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