The Department of Planning & Environment has placed its North Coast Regional Plan 2041 on exhibition, with submissions closing Wednesday 24 August. We have registered to attend the last online Zoom community workshop about the Plan tonight (Thursday 11 August) at 6pm. More information can be found here.

Briefly, the Plan looks to introduce a North Coast Urban Development Program (similar to the Hunter Urban Development Program) and establish a Housing Affordability Roundtable comprised of key government and civic organisations as well as industry stakeholders. No numerical targets for specific increases in social or affordable rental housing are embedded as action items in the Plan. In the many submissions we have made on Regional Plan reviews to 2041, this has been a consistent sore point with the exception of the Central Coast Regional Plan which did exhibit proposed numeric targets to increase ‘affordable housing’. Our submission to NSW Government will reiterate the need for strong, plain-English affordable rental and social housing targets to be included in the North Coast Regional Plan.

If you are a member and have any further suggestions for what our submission on the North Coast Regional Plan should include, please get in touch with our Policy Officer Kayla Clanchy (kayla@shelternsw.org.au) by 18 August 2022.