How are local councils balancing local housing needs while progressing renewable energy developments?
This case study is one of a series looking at how the shift to renewable energy can enable improved housing outcomes for regional communities. It showcases examples of innovative workforce accommodation and legacy housing initiatives from across Australia.
Housing legacy: Uralla Shire Council will ensure a positive housing legacy from Renewable Energy Zone investments, through actions and strategies identified in its Local Housing Strategy 2025.
With the 2021 declaration of the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in NSW, Uralla Shire Council recognised the need for a strategy to progress renewable energy developments while balancing the needs of the Shire.
Together with other local government areas in the REZ, Uralla negotiated with EnergyCo – the state government-owned energy infrastructure planner – for each council to receive an annual payment of $250,000 over three years. The payments support councils to resource and prepare for the renewable energy roll-out.
Uralla Shire Council used a portion of its payment to recruit a Strategic Planning Officer to mitigate risks and maximise opportunities associated with key planning themes, such as housing. A key output from this work has been the Shire’s Local Housing Strategy 2025.
LOCAL CONTEXT
Uralla Shire has a population of around 6,000 residents in the Northern Tablelands of NSW. The region is a popular destination for tourists and tree-changers. It has a tight rental market that further tightened with the construction of the Shire’s first large-scale solar project, New England Solar, in 2022.
Approximately 5GW of potential energy projects (enough to power over 2 million homes) are currently in the planning pipeline for the region, along with grid infrastructure that includes two large substations within the Shire. These substations will allow further renewable energy projects to connect into the grid. The workforce associated with this level of construction is expected to put significant pressure on housing supply.
CHALLENGES THE PROJECT IS SEEKING TO ADDRESS
How do we, as local government, mitigate risk of renewable energy development while maximising the opportunities for our community, recognising that we are part of a much larger effort and context?
Toni Averay, General Manager, Uralla Shire Council
Uralla Shire Council has recognised the need to unlock housing supply by developing and updating housing and planning strategies to bring forward more diverse and affordable housing options. However, as a smaller council facing a large array of new developments in the area, having the resources to do the necessary planning and preparation is a challenge.
WHAT HAPPENED
As a first step, Council identified their local housing priorities by developing a Housing Strategy Key Issues Report. The report drew on stakeholder consultation and a detailed analysis of supply and demand. The most important issue raised in the consultation process was housing availability and affordability. Key findings in the report included:
- Rising demand from renewable energy projects creates a dual challenge of accommodating temporary workers sustainably while leveraging projects to create lasting infrastructure and housing benefits, and
- The significant pipeline of projects has the potential to attract new working-age residents and families to the region.
This report was used as a foundation to develop the Uralla Shire Local Housing Strategy 2025 to guide local housing development over the next 20 years.
Uralla Shire Council will be supported to implement this strategy through its existing EnergyCo grant, as well as through grant funding from the NSW Government’s Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund. The Council is also collaborating with Homes NSW and Homes North Community Housing to develop new affordable housing on Council-owned land, drawing insights from Shoalhaven City Council’s experience with community housing.
KEY BENEFITS THE PROJECT SEEKS TO DELIVER
- Early strategic planning to identify how workers’ accommodation can leave a legacy through the transition of temporary accommodation to affordable and community housing
- Ensuring new temporary workforce accommodation is located and designed in a way that allows for the reuse of trunk infrastructure – such as roads, water and sewerage supply – for permanent housing
LEARNINGS FOR BROADER APPLICATION
Uralla Shire Council expects that financial backing for the development of workers’ accommodation will be secured through partnerships with energy companies and through investor arrangements. The Council’s role is facilitating partnerships, and providing clear guidance around the location and development outcomes for temporary workforce accommodation. Proactive, forward planning by Council can enable a longer term transition of this accommodation into permanent infrastructure or legacy housing.
While there is uncertainty around project sequencing and the number of workers potentially requiring accommodation within the Shire, the opportunity to leverage investment and possibly direct a percentage of project community benefits into a more secure housing supply was an important opportunity.
The Council has established the Uralla Shire Renewable Energy Community Benefit Fund, which will receive contributions through Voluntary Planning Agreements (VPAs) with renewable energy companies. The next step was to start a program of community engagement with The Next Economy to determine the outcomes the community would like to see as the REZ rolls out, which could include innovative housing projects within the Shire. The Council expects to secure VPAs with all renewable energy projects, receiving funds as they become operational. If all projects currently in planning are developed, the fund could be receiving in excess of $1.1m per annum by 2032.
When Uralla Shire initially embarked on this work, state government planning regulations required the Council to enable temporary workers’ accommodation through their Local Environment Plans. This had significant potential to delay implementation of its housing strategy.
However, following advocacy from local government and others, the state government amended its housing planning policy to enable accommodation for renewable energy workers to be permitted on suitably zoned land within a selection of local government areas, including Uralla Shire Council. This meant implementation of the strategy could proceed without time consuming and costly changes to the Council’s development controls.
Through its investigation work, the Shire identified that consolidation and utilisation of areas currently zoned residential is the most efficient approach to new housing. This meant there was no immediate need for rezoning of additional residential land in Uralla. Supported by EnergyCo, Council has identified potential sites for new developments and engaged with landholders, along with several interested private investors.
Read more examples of innovative workforce accommodation and legacy housing initiatives in the shift to renewable energy in our full report.
Banner image: Uralla NSW. Image credit: Uralla Shire Council.