A SITE in the village of Valla Beach has been earmarked by the NSW Government as having the potential to deliver more than 160 new homes, as part of its ongoing Building Homes for NSW initiative.
The announcement follows the latest phase of a statewide government property audit which identified seven surplus land parcels capable of providing more than 600 homes across New South Wales.
The Valla Beach site is one of only four regional locations named in this round and the only one on the Mid North Coast.
Strategically located north of Nambucca Heads and near the Pacific Highway, the Valla Beach site is currently under review by Homes NSW, the state’s housing delivery agency.
The site is expected to support a mix of social, affordable and market dwellings once planning, due diligence, and regulatory approvals are complete.
The proposed land is in the vicinity of Langsford Way and Anderson Park and was previously owned by the Department of Education.
Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said the land audit is already producing tangible results.
“We are continuing to tackle the state’s housing crisis head-on,” Mr Kamper said.
“This property audit program is delivering a steady pipeline of new housing development opportunities on under utilised surplus government land, to help address our critical shortage in housing supply.”
The NSW Government says the audit has identified around 10,000 potential homes in just over a year, with sites being assessed by either Homes NSW or Landcom, the government’s development arm.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully added that the government was now incorporating faster planning tools, such as the 10-day approval pathway and pre-approved architect designs found in the NSW Housing Pattern Book.
“We want to make sure there are homes that are well-designed, sustainable and adaptable to a range of lifestyle choices,” Mr Scully said.
Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said the government was committed to ensuring surplus public land was used to meet housing needs.
“Every one of these sites has the potential to deliver hundreds of homes where they are needed most,” she said.
“Whether it is social housing, affordable rentals or market homes, we are determined to build every type of housing people in NSW need.”
Community reaction to the Valla Beach announcement is likely to emerge once more details about housing types and timelines are made public.
However, with vast pockets of land cleared in the Alexandra Drive/Marshall Way vicinity and the Valla Urban Growth Area collectively set to yield over a thousand residential dwellings, questions from the public regarding infrastructure capacity and environmental impact are bound to arise.
By Mick BIRTLES
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