When too many blocks is not enough

IT’S necessary to read Page 2 of the Executive Summary.

Here it says something important about claims made in a new ‘Bass Coast Residential Supply Demand Assessment Final Report’ that there is 56 years of home sites available in Wonthaggi.

The report commissioned by DELWP and the Bass Coast Shire claims that there are 1980 new residential blocks available now, already rezoned and apparently ready to be built on, and a further 3750 blocks of land yet to be rezoned.

That’s 5730 blocks of land in total, allegedly enough for more than 56 years of demand at a rate of 102 new houses a year.

Local real estate agents have frankly called these numbers “bulldust” or words to that effect.

And the small print on Page 2 of the Executive Summary provides a clue about how government and shire stats can say one thing about the availability of residential land in Wonthaggi, when those who have been wanting to build for the past three years, see something completely different.

“This level of supply should generally be considered as a theoretical maximum supply level, given that not all lots will necessarily be made available to the market in the planning period and that recent trends indicate that demand may exceed current projections.”

It’s “theoretical” alright… there are no new blocks of land ready to be built on right across the town.

Certainly, some are on the way and many more will be available once the Wonthaggi North-East Growth Area comes on stream (whenever that will be!) but right now, in Wonthaggi, and in several other locations around the Bass Coast Shire, there have been precious few blocks of land to help relieve what has developed into a crisis in housing.

And the ‘Residential Supply Demand Assessment’, released as part of a complete overhaul of the Bass Coast Shire Council planning scheme, ironically to deal with the impacts of growth, doesn’t address the extent of this unmet demand for home sites, or the social fallout.

The report is one of a number released in response to the declaration of Bass Coast as a ‘distinctive area and landscape’.

“The iconic Bass Coast is renowned for its dramatic coastlines, rolling hills, unique habitats and wildlife, and relaxed coastal lifestyle… the characteristics that make the Bass Coast such a desirable place to live and visit, however, are under threat from over-development, and impacts from increased visitation and the effects of climate change.”

Something has got to give, and together with claiming that there is already sufficient blocks of residential land available, what has to give is ongoing restrictions, and in some cases, tighter restrictions on town boundaries, especially on Phillip Island and at Inverloch.

The ‘Residential Supply Demand Assessment’ report goes on to say that there is 9-12 years of already zoned blocks of residential land available at Cowes (1145 blocks), 19-25 years of rezoned land at Cape Paterson (301 blocks), and 17-18 years of residential blocks at Inverloch (1330 blocks).

Even on the DELWP/shire figures, the future at Cowes (143 blocks), Inverloch (0 blocks) and San Remo (0 blocks) looks bleak with virtually no new areas identified to be rezoned for residential growth.