Have your say – Draft Housing Strategy now on public exhibition

Wagga Wagga City Council’s draft Local Housing Strategy (LHS) and draft Interim Affordable Housing Paper (IAHP) are now on public exhibition, and Council is encouraging residents to provide feedback in person at one of our community engagement sessions or online through our Have Your Say Wagga page.

The two documents explore ways to improve housing outcomes in the Wagga Wagga community over the next 15 years, from 2026 to 2041. Together, these documents set out a future vision for housing in Wagga Wagga.

Council’s Strategic Planner, Chloe Boyd, explained the draft Local Housing Strategy focuses on how much housing we need, where that housing should be located, and what type of housing we want to see built.

“The draft LHS explores our current and future demographics. We will need approximately 5,000 additional dwellings between 2026 and 2041 to accommodate our population growth,” Ms Boyd said.

“Those dwellings should include a mix of typologies, such as detached, attached, and shop-top housing, across identified greenfield, infill, CBD and village growth areas.”

The draft Interim Affordable Housing Paper recognises the importance of social and affordable housing, identifies the existing programs at Federal, State and Local Government levels, and the options that Council might explore to encourage more housing in this space.

Council’s Executive Director Housing & Strategic Planning, Fiona Hamilton, says both documents are essential for our local community moving forward.

“We’re really excited to bring these documents to the community, as both are critical to creating a liveable, amenable and thriving Wagga Wagga,” Ms Hamilton said.

“The Local Housing Strategy will provide a strategic approach to managing future housing growth in appropriate locations, ensuring access to services and open space, providing for the next 15 years of population growth and beyond.

“The documents have been developed through engagement with key industry and agency stakeholders. Now it’s our community’s turn to provide feedback on local housing needs and priorities so we can work together to fill the gaps.

“There are multiple ways to get involved. We will be holding community drop-in sessions, forums and stakeholder workshops focussed on the themes identified in the draft documents.

“We encourage you to visit our Have Your Say webpage to read the documents, find locations and times for feedback sessions, or to make a submission online.”

The draft LHS and draft IAHP are proudly funded by the NSW Government in association with Wagga Wagga City Council, through the Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund (Round 1).