Cr Shane Sali moved a motion at the Tuesday, February 15, council meeting noting updated assessments of residential and industrial land supply prepared by Spatial Economics, but also authorising Mr Harriott to request Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne provide additional funds and resources to the Victorian Planning Authority to accelerate the rezoning of multiple residential and industrial growth fronts within Greater Shepparton.
“Twelve months ago we endorsed the 2050 Growth Strategy and 12 months ago I and other councillors highlighted the fact that if the current uptake of land both in residential and industrial continued we would have to act with urgency,” Cr Sali said.
Cr Sali said the updated reports didn’t reflect the past 12 months of land sales and he urged the council to act with urgency to avoid the cost to the economy and loss of growth opportunity if land wasn’t available.
“We also need to acknowledge that under seven years’ supply of land is not good enough, and I also question why we are not sitting at the recommended 15 years-plus supply of zoned residential land,” he said.
Cr Sali also questioned whether current investigations of land for future industrial development were in areas the market wasn’t interested in pursuing.
“The community needs to know that right now we are doing everything as efficiently and effectively as possible to get blocks on the ground,” Cr Sali said.
He also said council needed to be “brave enough to tell them (the Victorian Government) we have a problem and we need help”.
Cr Geoff Dobson, who has a background in real estate, said residential blocks were being sold at an $80,000 premium on what they sold for a year ago.
Cr Dobson said the inflated pricing was driven by low borrowing costs and limited supply.
“The Goulburn Valley is a preferred destination, and so it should be, but that comes at a cost,” he said.
Cr Anthony Brophy was more matter of fact in his assessment.
“We are at the point where we are in a crisis,” he said.
“We are at a really crucial point; we forecast that 12 months ago, but it has hit us pretty quickly.”
Council commissioned the updated reports due to broad concern that the supply of residential and industrial land since the 2019 assessment had diminished due to population growth, increased land consumption and increased subdivision sizes for both industrial and residential development.
The update concluded broad-hectare residential land stocks based on the identified supply and projected demand scenarios would cater for eight to 14 years of demand, but also said it considered the analysis overstated the years of undeveloped greenfield supply, which was just five years’ zoned supply.
Shepparton-Mooroopna and Tatura had an urgent need for short-term (two to three years) land supply.
After the meeting Mayor Kim O’Keeffe said land supply issues were getting to a “high level, almost a crisis”.
“We need more support. You talk to most regional areas at the moment and they are all experiencing the same thing,” Cr O’Keeffe said.
“We need to fast-track those land opportunities — we know it is going to become desperate, and we need some support.”
Cr O’Keeffe, who chairs Regional Cities Victoria, said the group of councils was also writing to the Victorian Government seeking more planning and development support.
