How can upgrading unused facilities ease the housing pressure in rural and regional communities?
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: By upgrading an existing, unused facility, this project creates a longer term opportunity for the Bellhaven Aged Care Facility to continue being used, whether as housing, a care facility or other potential uses.
Squadron Energy has a leasehold arrangement with the former Bellhaven Aged Care Facility in Wellington, NSW. Bellhaven Aged Care was an aged care facility that closed in 2018. The buildings have been unused since. As part of its lease arrangement, Squadron has commissioned refurbishment works, with a focus on First Nations employment, to prepare it for use as a temporary workforce accommodation. This refurbishment project will avoid adding pressure to an already-stressed local rental market.
LOCAL CONTEXT
Wellington is a small town of approximately 4,500 people located south-east of Dubbo, within the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone in NSW. It is known for its rich Indigenous cultural heritage and almost a third of the population are First Nations peoples. Once a gold rush town, its economy now relies on farming and tourism.
Wellington has experienced significant rental price increases in the last five years,¹ partially due to the influx of renewable energy workers servicing surrounding projects. Prior to shutting down in 2018, the Bellhaven Aged Care Facility provided the only high-care aged facility in the Wellington community.
CHALLENGES THE PROJECT IS SEEKING TO ADDRESS
There were 135,000 unoccupied private dwellings in regional NSW at the 2021 Census, with an additional but unknown number of vacant commercial or retail buildings.² The refurbishment of underutilised or vacant buildings for temporary workers’ accommodation is a significant opportunity across regional Australia. Vacant buildings have the potential to be renovated and brought back into the housing system often much faster and with lower environmental impacts than new-build construction.³ There is substantial opportunity for local communities, councils and building owners to proactively identify buildings that could be renovated and refurbished for temporary and/or long-term use.
WHAT HAPPENED
Squadron Energy engaged with Dubbo Regional Council on opportunities to provide locally appropriate housing solutions in Wellington. Bellhaven Aged Care Facility was identified as an unused site that, with refurbishment, would be suitable for temporary workforce accommodation.
Squadron negotiated with the owner for a five-year lease arrangement, with an option to extend for another five years, and agreed to fund all refurbishment costs required to transition the site to workers’ accommodation. The 32-room building will be used to house workers on Squadron’s Uungula Wind Farm. The company made a commitment to use local First Nations businesses to do the refurbishment work.
It helps me to be able to keep work in town. I was born and raised here, and I’ve got my own little family here now, so it’s been good. Since starting on the project, I’ve brought on a first year apprentice. It’s been a good opportunity. Jake Newman,
First Nations electrical contractor on site
Local businesses will also be involved with the operations and maintenance of the facility. When the facility is no longer required as workers’ accommodation, it will be returned to the property owner to be reused for alternative purposes.
KEY BENEFITS THE PROJECT SEEKS TO DELIVER
- Refurbishment of an existing facility, which supports re-use of a vacant building and reduces the need and impact of temporary rentals and new-build construction
- Support for local First Nations businesses
LEARNINGS FOR BROADER APPLICATION
The Bellhaven Aged Care Facility is an example of the value communities can receive by refurbishing or retrofitting existing buildings in regional and rural towns. Across Australia, there are many disused or underutilised buildings that have the potential to help ease the severe housing shortages facing many communities.
Upgrading Bellhaven to support temporary workforce accommodation will enable additional workers to live in Wellington without increasing demand on the already-stressed local rental market. It also creates the opportunity for the facility to continue being used after Squadron’s lease ends, whether as housing, resuming operations as a care facility or other potential uses.
This project is an example of how renewable energy companies can support local economies and First Nations workforces – not only through works directly on site, but also through general building works associated with projects. This provides opportunities for local businesses that might not otherwise have direct contact with a renewable energy company.
With a goal to have a local First Nations team complete the Bellhaven upgrades, Squadron Energy first identified First Nations companies in the Wellington region with the capacity to do the necessary work. They then engaged a local First Nations head contractor in Wellington and worked with the head contractor to ensure First Nations sub-contractors could be engaged on the project.
Read more examples of innovative workforce accommodation and legacy housing initiatives in the shift to renewable energy in our full report.
¹ Umwelt Environmental and Social Consultants, Wellington North Solar Farm Accommodation and Employment Strategy (2022) <https://lightsourcebp.com/app/uploads/2022/12/Accommodation-and-Employment-Strategy.pdf>.
² .idcommunity, ‘Regional NSW’, Regional Profile (Dwelling type, 2024) <https://profile.id.com.au/australia/dwellings?WebID=180>.
³ Framework Group, ‘Retrofits versus Building New: We Need Whole of Industry Change’, Framework Group (2024) <https://www.fwss.com.au/news/retrofits-versus-building-new-we-need-whole-of-industry-change/> (‘Retrofits versus Building New’).
Banner image: Bellhaven Aged Care. (Image credit: Squadron Energy)