New Affordable Housing Development

BY ARIANA GATTI

A new partnership between Newcastle City Council and Compass Housing Group will see the joint contribution of $6-million to fund an affordable housing development within the Newcastle CBD announced today.

The new building, set to start construction no later than the end of the year, will feature 17 one and two bedroom units along Station Street in Wickham.

At least eight units will be completely reserved for key workers around the city, such as teachers and emergency services personnel, typically seeing rents capped at 30% of household incomes.

The remaining nine units in the building will be chartered specifically for social housing tenants.

The infrastructure project will cost up to $7-million to complete, providing it is completely approved by the local council.

The Compass Housing Group's Managing Director, Greg Budworth, has welcomed all support to move ahead with the development as he believes there is still a shortage in available living spaces around Newcastle and the Hunter.

"Every city across Australia is in desperate need for more social and affordable housing to be developed. The need is for about 500,000 properties to be developed over at least 10 years", he says.

"Newcastle is one of the most expensive cities to live in, so more housing available at lower prices are needed".

Image Sourced: Station Street Render - Compass Housing and Newcastle City Council releases

Wickham in for Growing Pains

BY MATT JOHNSTON

Newcastle Independents candidate for Ward 1, John Church, says Wickham's got a bustling future ahead of it. There are currently 18 projects which are underway or in the pipeline for the suburb, and the potential influx of new residents has existing ones worried.

“I have been consulting with local residents who want to see progress but who are genuinely concerned about parking, increased traffic in already narrow streets and the lack of public space," said Mr Church.

Mr Church says the Wickham Master Plan, which was launched earlier this year, needs serious funding and commitment to help the suburb effectively manage the growing pains. "The master plan creates a pathway forward but needs funding."

"We believe enacting the Wickham Master Plan, by spending DA Section 94 contributions, is an effective way to get the Mast Plan underway. Otherwise, we'll get left behind."

The funding, Mr Church says, doesn't have to be re-spent in Wickham under existing arrangements. But he believes "Wickham is a special case" which needs careful management to prevent overcrowding and over-use of services.

Newcastle Ward 1 Candidate John Church

Newcastle Independents call on Council to release June financial reports

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

Lord Mayoral candidate for the Newcastle Independents, Kath Elliott, has today voiced her concerns over Monday night's meeting, where a presentation of Council's monthly finances was not made.

According to Ms Elliott, Council usually presents its monthly finances at the end of each subsequent month, however the June figures, which also represent Council's draft end of financial year numbers, were not provided on Monday night.

"The community did not see what has happened in the last financial year; those results were withheld, which is unprecedented," she says, "Those results would have shown what Council's surplus or deficit would have been, at the end of June 30."

Ms Elliott believes the Labor/Greens alliance may be deliberately withholding the information from the community.

"The Newcastle Independents suspect that we have a large surplus at the end of this year," she says, "that coincides with Mrs Nelmes and her Labor/Greens alliance giving us a 46.9% rate rise. If we're paying nearly half our rates again and there's a big surplus, one has to question- why can't Council spend it? Do they need that rate money? 

"I suspect that Mrs Nelmes and the alliance don't want us to know what that final figure looks like, and we're calling on her to release them now."

Around 15 matters were discussed at Monday night's Council meeting, including a motion to conduct a review into Newcastle's use of building cladding and a motion to explore the prospect of a micro music festival in the region.

Kath Elliott, mayoral candidate.