Published on Friday, 13 October 2023 at 2:15:00 PM
The Shire of Esperance and the Goldfields Esperance Development Commission joined forces recently, to deliver a valuable planning resource to guide investment in and development of accommodation options for our region in the coming years.
The Esperance Land, Housing and Accommodation Study is now available, and will assist anyone working to address the major housing issues in Esperance. The Study is a deep dive into factors contributing to the current lack of housing, and ways to move forward, providing details of:
- current land availability, housing and accommodation
- expected housing needs and demands across community segments, and
- data to support advocacy, business cases and potential grant applications.
This information lays the groundwork for private business and government to identify what types of housing are needed, where, and by what groups. It facilitates work to meet the needs of current and future residents, visitors and short-term workers. This is not all about building 4 x 2 houses, as data on current and projected demand for backpacker, tourist and aged accommodation, high end hotels, and lifestyle villages makes clear.
The Study identifies and examines key challenges to the delivery of housing in Esperance, summarizing the information with the note that continuation of a ‘business as usual’ approach to housing supply will not drive the required outcomes for current or future residents, having the potential to stifle economic development in the future and jeopardise regional investment.
Balancing this, the Study reports that many of the market characteristics leading to housing delivery challenges also have the potential to be leveraged to provide opportunities for investment. Key areas of focus are outlined and a range of actions detailed, to target different parts of the housing supply chain.
Aside from ongoing work on the Flinders Estate housing project, much of what the Study assigns to the Shire is advocacy, promotion and facilitation. The role of the Shire to advocate on behalf of the community is an important one, backed up by community sentiment expressed through the Council Plan (Objectives 7.1 and 8.1). This Study will support and increase the impact of Shire influence for positive regional housing solutions.
The Esperance Land, Housing and Accommodation Study is available on the Shire website here - there are some great insights, have a read!
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