Media response - Skoda Street Reserve

Published on 15 April 2025

Response to The Advertiser.

• I'm writing about council's earlier proposal to lease out a portion of Skoda Street Reserve for housing and wanted to put a few questions to council. How much housing could be developed on the portion of land and how much of an impact would the proposed accommodation have on the housing crisis within the region? If the proposal goes ahead, when does council expect housing to be developed on the reserve? Is council considering any other land for housing?

We’re testing community appetite for changing the use of this portion of land to allow for potential affordable housing, and we’ll start community engagement on the proposal on Friday 2 May. We’re in the very early stages and no commitment has been made to a particular proposal.

If the land use is changed, we may choose to progress to an expression of interest process, with strict criteria for how a housing provider would develop and manage appropriate affordable housing on this land. There’s no set timeframe for this.

We’re committed to exploring our role in addressing the housing crisis in our city. Trialling this process is one avenue we’re exploring to see what could work for our community.

ENDS