The vulnerable families include the homeless, women trying to escape domestic violence and people with a disability.
Readers may have often seen this sector of need (particularly in recent media reports in Shepparton) as being described as “social housing”, which is effectively subsidised housing for very low and low income residents.
The topic of social housing in Shepparton came to light last year when Greater Shepparton City Council revealed it was considering allowing social housing to be built above a public car park on the corner of Maude and Nixon Sts.
The plan has won in-principle support from the council which now has the task of pursuing the detail and convincing some nervous residents that it is a good idea.
While the plan has only just been made public, council has been working on a strategy to try to find more public housing in the city for several years since it adopted the Greater Shepparton Affordable Housing strategy.
In the strategy, council has correctly identified a housing shortage in the city, pointing to a homeless rate well above the state average and a decline in housing affordability.
So, late last year, council decided to adopt a proposal to use the air space above the Maude and Nixon St, Shepparton, car park for a social housing development.
The four-storey complex would retain public parking at ground level and a level of tenant parking and feature 30 one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.
The decision may have been a surprise to the network of housing and welfare representatives who helped the council reach the following conclusion on where the housing should be located:
“Where possible, Affordable Housing will be ‘pepper-potted’ through existing and new residences, rather than being concentrated in a specific location,” the strategy found.
“A key direction of the Strategy is to encourage Affordable Housing to be integrated into surrounding neighbourhoods.”
Some of the initial objections to the site, while motivated by differing reasons, do raise the issue of how socially appropriate the social housing will be.
The choice of a complex style building in a CBD location has alarmed some residents, mindful of the Melbourne housing towers, which are now generally regarded as problematic.
This type of complex provides no green, open-air space for residents, involves a multi level development which is difficult for anyone with a disability, restricts the amount of space for parking and pushes together people from similar economic backgrounds.
The ‘spot’ purchasing approach which found houses in established subdivisions would seem to be a better strategy.
The CBD location is also not as attractive as it used to be, with dispersed shopping centres and distances to schools.
Some of the initial objections to the site, while motivated by differing reasons, do raise the issue of how socially appropriate the social housing will be.
The creation of a monolithic building to provide a required number of units may tick the boxes for the strategy, but may also result in some unintended consequences.
While there are some serious questions to be answered about the cluster nature of the development, the council at least deserves some acknowledgement for trying to find creative solutions to addressing an alarming community need.
We hope the council will carefully consider the feedback it receives on this project.
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