Bega Valley Shire Council has secured $250,000 in funding from Round 2 of the NSW Government's Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund, to accelerate the land rezoning process for three new neighbourhoods south of Bega.
Council's Planning and Sustainability Manager, Cecily Hancock said Council will use the funds to carry out background studies such as bushfire risk assessments, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Achaeological reports, biodiversity assessments, traffic impact studies and agricultural assessments.
"The proposed land rezoning was identified in the Bega Structure Plan, which was funded through Round 1 of the Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund," Ms Hancock said.
"The Bega Structure Plan identifies a range of changes to Council's Local Environmental Plan required to ensure the pipeline of housing supply in the shire in the medium and longer term.
"When we asked for community feedback on both the Bega Structure Plan and Wolumla Structure Plan late last year, we received more than 500 responses, of which 80% thought providing more housing supply was a priority in the shire.
"With the demand for housing in the shire continually accelerating, facilitating the development of urban release areas has become a priority.
"This new funding will help bring forward the construction of more diverse and affordable housing.
"Amendments to Council's planning framework will provide certainty for the developers, government, service providers and the community to ensure future housing supply in the area is well planned, adequately serviced, diverse, resilient and affordable."
