Colac Otway Shire Council has declared a Key and Essential Worker Housing Crisis in Colac Otway Shire following a Notice of Motion raised by Deputy Mayor Graham Costin at the June Council meeting.

Councillors voted to declare the Housing Crisis and noted work underway to facilitate social and key worker housing in Colac and a substantial shortage of key and essential worker housing in the shire’s coastal towns.

Mayor Kate Hanson said it was critically important to address the housing problem in the shire.

“The lack of worker housing in Colac and Apollo Bay is having an impact on the economy and liveability of our communities; it’s important we address the shortage of worker housing in Colac Otway Shire.

“Pressure is being felt across the whole community with essential services such as doctors, teachers and police not able to move to Colac Otway to take up work.

“If we don’t address the housing shortage, our shire won’t continue to grow, there will be a decline in families moving or staying in the area, which in turn will affect community services, sports organisations and overall liveability of Colac Otway.

“We have a need for housing suitable for professional workers as well as housing that is suitable for workers in our commercial, industrial and hospitality sectors.

“Key and Essential Worker Housing is a widespread, national issue – not just specific to Colac Otway and it’s important we acknowledge we won’t be able to solve this crisis on our own,” Cr Hanson said.

Cr Graham Costin said the Notice of Motion was intended to increase awareness of the affordable worker housing shortage in Colac and coastal towns, and for Council to respond to an escalating level of concern from local businesses and communities.

“There’s a need for greater housing diversity across the whole municipality but Apollo Bay and our coastal towns are more impacted by remoteness and the escalating diversion of permanent housing to holiday homes and short-term rentals platforms like Air BnB.

“More safe secure affordable housing is needed in these coastal towns to grow our permanent population and to accommodate seasonal workers during peak tourism periods.

“The shortage of skilled and experienced workers along the coast also has the potential to reduce the quality of the visitor experience we proudly offer in our Shire.

“Some Apollo Bay food and accommodation businesses are severely constrained by a shortage of qualified chefs, wait staff or experienced cleaners. Some have had to reduce their opening hours or to close for days at a time.

“In response to this, the CEO will collaborate with the Federal and State Governments, G21, Great Ocean Road Authority and our community stakeholders to identify a range of actions to alleviate a housing shortage for coastal workers over the coming summer peak season. A report on this will be presented to Councillors at the September Council meeting,” Cr Costin said.

Source: Colac Otway Shire media release

Colac Otway Shire Council is set to start the search for a land developer interested in buying council-owned land near Lake Colac, to create a residential estate with a mix of housing opportunities.

Colac Otway Mayor Cr Kate Hanson said addressing the significant housing shortage faced in the shire was a priority and selling the Council land at 36-52 Bruce Street for development was an important step.

“We urgently need housing for workers so our employers can fill job vacancies and reach their potential; we need a variety of new housing for families, singles, retirees and a growing population; and we need social housing for our most vulnerable residents,” Cr Hanson said.

“There has been extensive work to prepare the Bruce Street land for sale and through an Expression of Interest process, we will be looking for a buyer who will develop the land, and create approximately 60 to 70 house blocks with a component of social housing.

“Our aim is to have the sale finalised by the end of the year and these blocks can be available as soon as possible,” she said.

“Council sees the Bruce Street land sale as a significant way for Council to actively address housing and worker shortages, while achieving a cash return from the site which will also benefit the community.”

Colac Otway Shire Council resolved at its May meeting last night to undertake an EOI process for the land sale that invites offers from developers and Community Housing Trusts that would result in approximately 15% of the land set aside for Build to Rent social housing.

Build to Rent involves a Community Housing Trust building and managing houses for long-term rental, with the rent capped at a maximum proportion of an eligible person’s income. This would address the significant market need for low-cost rental housing.

The Expression of Interest process will encourage other innovative forms of affordable housing to be provided in excess of the minimum social housing requirement, aimed at meeting the needs of key and essential workers in Colac, provided an acceptable financial return from the site is realised.

Colac Otway Shire Council considered the option of developing and subdividing the land itself however it believes selling the land as a whole to a suitable developer will achieve the best result.

Colac Otway Shire Council will advertise its intention to sell the land, as required by the Local Government Acts, before the EoI process starts, and further information about the process, which will be overseen by a Probity Advisor, is available at www.colacotway.vic.gov.au There will be opportunities for the community to comment via submissions following the advertising of the intention to sell and during the planning process.

Source: Colac Otway Shire media release

Four G21 councils are partnering with 42 other Victorian councils on the largest local government emissions reduction project in Australia.

The Borough of Queenscliffe, City of Greater Geelong, Golden Plains Shire and Surf Coast Shire will join the Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO) which will see 46 of Victoria’s 79 local councils powered by renewable energy with Melbourne-based energy retailer Red Energy.

An offshoot of the Federal Government-owned Snowy Hydro, Red Energy has signed an agreement to supply the councils with a combined 240 GWh of renewable energy each year until the end of 2030.

The G21 region’s fifth council, Colac Otway Shire is already set to become among Victoria’s first regional councils to be carbon neutral after voting to purchase 100 per cent Greenpower last year.

VECO’s energy will be provided by Tilt Renewables’ 336 MW Dundonnell Wind Farm near Mortlake, which started exporting power to the grid in March 2020, and the Murra Warra II Wind Farm near Horsham.

The 209 MW Murra Warra II Wind Farm, owned by Swiss investment manager Partners Group, is currently under construction and is expected to be fully operational by June 2022. Snowy Hydro has already signed off-take agreements with both wind farms.

While savings will vary across councils based on their individual energy needs, VECO is expected to save councils up to 35% on their electricity bills, freeing up money to be invested back in the community.

The 240 GWh of clean power will deliver 45% of the state’s annual local government electricity demand, equivalent to powering 48,000 homes with renewables. The project is expected to save 260,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

The majority of councils will make the switch to renewable energy by July 1 with the initial contract to run for 9.5 years.