Land swap proposal for more social housing in Goulburn strikes opposition

Up to 20 people attended a public hearing on Thursday, September 14 to discuss the NSW Land and Housing Corporation's (LAHC) proposal. The self-funded organisation wants to exchange 15,470 square metres of state owned land at 257 Gibson Street, above the Wollondilly Riverwalk, for 3219sqm of council parkland at the corner of Gibson Street and Howard Boulevard.

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The park would have to be reclassified from community to operational land for the homes. If approved by the council, this would be followed by rezoning for residential use and a development application.

Residents, councillors, council staff and LAHC senior development manager for southern NSW, Rod Garrett, attended Thursday's public hearing, chaired by independent consultant, Steve Richardson.

Gibson Street resident, Vicki Valentine, said she bought her home two years ago largely due to the park's location. She cares for her three grandchildren, all of whom have disabilities and require supervision during play

"On weekends they play soccer in the park and ride their bikes. So do other children. The parents sit there and watch and it's their socialisation, " she told The Post.

"Other people use it, walk their dogs and sit and chat because they want open space. There are always a lot of birds around and it's really lovely."

Ms Valentine said she did not believe the land should be exchanged to construct more social housing in the area.

Six speakers aired similar sentiments. Several said they didn't see it as a "swap" at all because it would remove green space. They feared more houses would add to traffic congestion in an already "busy area," devalue surrounding homes and questioned LAHC's ability to maintain their current housing stock.

But Mr Garrett argued there was a strong need for more social housing. LAHC manages 650 houses in the council area, the majority in Goulburn, and 300 people are awaiting accommodation.

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Twenty-three of these were "high priority" and 36 tenants, including seniors, urgently needed transfer to smaller, more appropriate homes. A total 45 per cent of existing homes had just one occupant, and 20 per cent had two occupants living in three and four bedroom houses.

"With these statistics, there is a need to rapidly reshape our housing portfolio to free up space for families," he said.

The LAHC says the homes will be architect-designed, of "high quality," and resemble those recently built in Hume Street and Rhoda Street.

Mr Garrett said the Gibson Street/Howard Boulevard units would accommodate seniors but conceded under questioning that this could not be guaranteed.

Mayor Peter Walker wanted to know whether seniors would have the option of staying in existing social housing if they had "made it their homes." Mr Garrett replied that this was venturing into "legal territory" but said LAHC worked cooperatively with its tenants.

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Cr Andrew Banfield questioned whether ratepayers would be better off financially under the exchange. He argued the council was exchanging potentially "high value" land for "unusable" parcels near the river, which the council already mowed for the state government.

"Have you given consideration to compensation?" he asked.

Mr Garrett replied that this was was "on the table."

He could not say how many homes would be built on the parkland, if approved, as it was yet to be designed. Detailed planning would begin if the land was rezoned.

But resident Belinda Taylor told the meeting that this detail should be available.

"I (also) don't understand how you can be spending so much money on architect-designed houses when the ones across the road are a shit fight," she said.

Ms Taylor said she had to enlist ministerial intervention to have two social houses either side of her cleaned up. Another house in Bolong Place "hadn't been painted in 35 years."

Sam Ross, speaking on his grandmother's behalf, said maintenance and improvement of the existing social housing stock "should be a priority." He said his grandmother waited years for her rain-damaged roof to be fixed and it was only repaired when the inner ceiling "caved in."

"It is evident that social housing is already struggling to address maintenance issues in a timely manner," he said.

"The prospect of adding more without adequate resources could exacerbate the problem and lead to further deterioration of living conditions for current and potential residents."

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Dave Lambert said he'd grown up in the area and in 1990 purchased and renovated his parents' home. He spoke of what he saw as social problems in the area.

He told the meeting that a valuer had already advised him his house's value would drop further if more social homes were built in the neighbourhood.

"I hope councillors take all of this on board and take the time to see where we're coming from. It's not something we want in our area," he said.

Another resident, Harley Lockley, said while he understood the need for more social housing, the Howard Boulevard/Gibson Street proposal would add to traffic congestion, especially at the T-intersection.

"There needs to be more open space around us and to put more housing in there is not a good idea," he said.

Mr Richardson will prepare a report summarising verbal and written submissions and making a recommendation to the council within the next few weeks. The report will be made public. Councillors will then decide whether to approve or decline the land classification.

If it went ahead, planning director Scott Martin said a subsequent land rezoning could take 12 to 18 months. Further community consultation would occur on this and any future development application.

After the meeting, Cr Walker said he was very pleased with the meeting's attendance.

"I'm sympathetic to people's thoughts and that's why we give them the opportunity to speak their minds. We'll see what comes out of it," he said.

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