Affordable housing a Council priority

Published on 28 October 2022

Benalla Rural City is becoming a mecca for families looking for affordable housing as Council continues to approve new housing subdivisions.

Benalla Rural City Council Mayor Bernie Hearn said the Council’s pro-development stance is helping establish affordable housing for the community and attract new families to the region.

“Since 2018 councillors have approved multiple subdivisions totalling around 500 new blocks of residential land,“ Cr Hearn said.

“This includes the 200-lot Livingston Estate development, for which we approved stage 3B at the October Council meeting.”

“Other significant subdivisions include 131 lots at Amberfield, a 43-lot development on Sydney Road and 44 residential lots at Hairs Lane, which are all due to go on sale shortly.”

Cr Hearn said there had been a conscious decision to create more housing in the region and that these subdivisions had all been established on land already zoned for residential development.

“This pro-development approach was made even more relevant with the onset of the pandemic and increased demand for regional housing,” Cr Hearn said.

Cr Hearn said that “the fact that developers are choosing Benalla Rural City to invest in shows our region was well placed to attract new residents.”

“This additional residential land will also help our families access affordable housing as these blocks go on sale,” Cr Hearn said.

This development boom comes on top of Council support for a shift to renewable energy by approving and supporting the construction of several solar farms. Two of these renewable energy farms have been constructed and are now fully operational.

Image: (l-r)  Nilesh Singh (Benalla Rural City Council Manager Development), Cr Bernie Hearn (Mayor), Dominic Testoni (Benalla Rural City Council CEO)