Site set for 102 new homes but no social housing
A planned major build of new homes on the old Council-owned Excelsior Oval will not help solve the city’s housing problems, claims Councillor Ron Page who is pushing ahead with his own plans for 95 new social housing homes on the Brookfield Ave site.
But now it looks like the councillor and his team are about to have the rug pulled out from under them as on Tuesday a deal was confirmed between the council and Adelaide-headquartered building company Spencer Property Group (SPG) who plan to put an initial 102 homes on the site – to be called Broken Hill Lifestyle Village.
As we have reported previously, Cllr Page has been arguing for 95 social housing homes to be built in Broken Hill to help alleviate the lack of housing options. He said he was going to present the plan to council. The issue came to the fore after back-to-back rental rises at Shorty O’Neil village, which are putting pressure on residents there.
Cllr Page and his team identified Excelsior Oval as the ideal place for a social housing development, not least because it has been lying dormant for years after Broken Hill Council bought it from the state government.
We’ve been told the deal with SPG – which has now been confirmed – has been many years in the making. SPG told us they have had a long-term lease from the Council on the land, but that’s now going to be changed to give the developer full ownership of the previously publicly-owned land.
“Settlement is expected 90 days after completion of contract documents,” SPG CEO Kel Spencer told us on Tuesday afternoon. “We expect delivery of the first new house six months thereafter,” he added.
Mr Spencer said the first stage of the development will include, “single storey manufactured housing for over 55s, some rental accommodation, and potentially some NDIS accommodation”.
“The site development will be progressed as quickly as sales permit. We have a multi stage approval that facilitates early delivery of housing,” he said.
He added, “we will explore social housing opportunities in the future but they are not included in our immediate plans.”
“We need social housing now. Not in two years or however long this mob is going to take.”
Cllr Page told the Truth he believes the move is a mistake, and will not best serve the ratepayers of Broken Hill.
The councillor says his property development plan would better serve the community and would yield results quicker than the Spencer Property Group can.
“It is not in the best interests of the ratepayers to sell Excelsior Oval. We need social housing now. Not in two years or however long this mob is going to take,” Cllr Page told us.
“The current [lease holders] have had 14 years to get something together, and they haven’t achieved any sort of outcome. Housing is the biggest issue in Australia in the moment, and we are not immune from that – we need more social housing now, not in two year’s time.
“And I am sure the federal government would foot the bill, so it would be at no cost to the taxpayers.
“The council maintains ownership of the land, and it costs ratepayers nothing to build more dwellings – it is a win-win for everyone.
“For Broken Hill to progress – new mines, a lot of new people coming to town – if we don’t have essential services or housing for people to live in, how can we push ourselves as a place to relocate to?”
Broken Hill City Council would not comment and directed us to Spencer Property Group.
