Tasmania’s planning policies are out of date and obstructing development applications, says the local government peak body.
“This means that instead of improving certainty for housing supply, they’ve become a barrier,” says Local Government Association Tasmania in its recently released housing position statement.
Planning policies “are not providing appropriate direction and coordination for supplying much-needed new housing,” says LGAT. “This makes the application process more complex, difficult and – worst of all for housing – slower.”
The peak body representing Tasmania’s 29 councils is calling on the government to make “meaningful improvements to housing security across the state.”
LGAT’s appeal comes as housing affordability hits a new low with supply failing to keep up with the state’s population which – from 2017 to 2022 – grew by more than double the highest projections, putting “serious strain” on the state’s housing stock.
“The key challenges for local government are that the critical foundations of our planning system – the Tasmanian planning policies and regional land use strategies – are either outdated or completely missing and Tasmania lacks a coherent infrastructure charging system,” LGAT chief executive officer Dion Lester told Government News.
“Effort needs to be on the strategic elements of land use planning, not on tinkering with regulations or development assessment processes,” added Lester. “The regional land use strategies are the keystones of our planning system and Tasmanian councils need them updated and kept relevant to our ongoing housing demands.”
As the state’s housing crisis has intensified, Tasmania’s councils have been dealing with its impacts on local communities, says LGAT. “Yet they have limited tools at their disposal to address the issue.”
Developed by the LGAT housing reference group established last year, the housing position statement:
- seeks changes to the foundational and strategic components of the state’s planning system
- calls on government to address the impacts of short-stay accommodation on housing availability
- calls on government to commit to developing, in partnership with local government, an infrastructure charging system for Tasmania.
“Without a proper infrastructure charging system, we get a market where developers are competing to not develop first,” says LGAT. “This stops new housing supply in its tracks.”
The LGAT’s housing position statement also articulates the desire of councils to adopt best-practice approaches to people experiencing homelessness.
“Councils want to ensure that regulations don’t make marginal housing situations worse … The Tasmanian Government needs to work closely with local government around planning and building regulations to ensure they achieve the right outcomes and don’t have unintended consequences,” says LGAT.
The housing position statement also targets short-stay accommodation. “Where investors are using whole homes for temporary stays, they are removing them from the housing market altogether,” says LGAT – particularly in popular tourist locations.
Elsewhere in the document, LGAT calls on the Tasmanian Government to act on affordable housing by encouraging and incentivising social and affordable housing options in planning scheme provisions.
This should include:
- planning policies that support affordable housing
- regional land use strategies that supply appropriately zoned residential land
- planning scheme or zone objectives to support affordable housing
- zone provisions that allow flexibility for affordable housing
- planning and regulatory incentives for proposals that improve housing diversity and especially for social and affordable housing.
“We believe these positions signal local government’s strong desire for strategic solutions that target the systemic problems in our housing market,” says LGAT.
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