Greens councillor John Mackenzie is pushing to lock in affordable housing levies for new developments in Newcastle's CBD and urban growth corridors.
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Cr Mackenzie will ask Tuesday night's council meeting to establish a levy scheme in Newcastle after state rules allowing affordable housing fees in six Sydney council areas were expanded throughout NSW last month.
City of Newcastle applied last year to the Department of Planning to be included in State Environmental Planning Policy No.70, which includes the levy provisions.
Cr MacKenzie said that under a levy scheme developers would include a percentage of affordable units or make an equivalent payment to an affordable housing fund. The council would transfer the levy to a certified community housing provider.
The council is partnering with Compass to build affordable housing in Wickham, but Cr Mackenzie said much more was needed.
"We know that more than 15,000 extra social and affordable houses will need to be built across the Hunter over the next 20 years to prevent a homelessness crisis," he said.
"Our region has the state's largest gap in social and affordable housing compared to demand. More than 1900 households are on the waiting list for affordable housing in Newcastle alone.
"Relying on the goodwill of developers has dramatically failed to deliver. Right now, there are only 30 new affordable housing units in the inner-city, despite 4400 new apartments projected for construction by 2040."