Locals-first affordable housing project one step closer to making Urunga home

A block of land in Urunga is one step closer to becoming home to one of Australia's first community land trust housing pilots.

What happened: During a council meeting on November 19, Bellingen Shire Council agreed to move forward with the transfer of Lot 1 Ferry Street, in Urunga, to Waterfall Way Community Land Trust (WWCLT).

The move creates a clear future for the affordable housing project, aimed at keeping locals living and working in their community.

What’s a community land trust?

A Community Land Trust, or CLT, is a form of shared home ownership that is run by, and for, the community. Those who live on the land are co-owners with the CLT. 

A CLT works by procuring low cost or no-cost land. 

Those eligible are then able to build homes on the land at their own expense, but do not need to pay for the land as it is owned by the trust, making it more affordable.

• “The CLT model offers a practical, community-owned solution to deliver housing that remains affordable for generations to come,” Kerry Pearse, Executive Officer of Waterfall Way CLT, told the Mid North Coaster.

When a house is sold it is not sold at market price. The sale is organised by the trust to ensure the model of housing remains affordable and for local residents. The house is sold for what it costs to build, plus an agreed indexation.

• “That means that the land is taken off the commercial market and the homes remain affordable for people on local income forever,” Pearse said.

The local impact: With an influx of people moving to the Mid North Coast and a rise in rental costs and house prices, residents who have lived and worked in the region for years are being pushed out. 

The Housing Matters Action Group (HMAG) is a community-led, not-for-profit organisation focused on creating affordable housing solutions in Bellingen and Nambucca Shire. The group introduced the Waterfall Way Community Land Trust (WWCLT) project in 2017 to support the “missing middle” on the Mid North Coast – those local income earners who earn too much to qualify for social housing but not enough to buy a home or keep up with rental prices. 

• “We’re seeing people doing it really tough,” Pearse said. “We’re noticing an increase of local working people going to community service organisations for help and for food,”  Pearse said.
  

  “People just can't save a deposit, pay big rent and get into the market and raise enough money from their local wage to be able to buy when they're looking at paying for a house that's 14 times their local wage.”

Homes for locals: The WWCLT model of “forever affordable” homeownership is for Mid North Coast locals currently priced out by the current housing crisis.

• “Some people are leaving the area because they just can't find secure homes that they can afford to live in,” Pearse said.

“These are the people who are on local wages who keep the community going all the way from teachers and nurses and people working at council to people working in the shops.”

Environmental impact: The WWCLT engaged an ecologist to perform a preliminary environmental assessment on the Urunga site, along with an arborist.

“With that expert advice we developed a couple of very light development scenarios,” Pearse said.

• The trust has put forward two concept plans including six to seven two and three-bedroom homes, “while maintaining important trees on the site and also replanting for much better biodiversity.”

• “We really care about environmental responsibility and providing more affordable housing for locals, so we’re trying our best to bring those two objectives together.”

What next: Council is now waiting on a legal advice report on the conditions of the transfer of land.

While no homes are currently available, and may be a few years away, registrations of interest are open to local residents living and working in the region.

What’s the cost: Bellingen Shire Council is the current landowner of Lot 1 Ferry Street, however, all costs associated with preparing the site for development – including clearing, excavation, civil works, utility connections, and related approvals – would be the responsibility of the WWCLT, or any future development partner. 

Council said it will not fund any preparatory works beyond what is necessary for the transfer of land.

Thumbnail: Image: Concept design of housing project. Housing Matters.