Published: 22 February 2023

Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher has welcomed $11.5M from the NSW Government to provide the infrastructure needed for 1,000 new housing lots in Moruya.

The funding will be used by Council to build roads, drainage and footpaths within three years, allowing land that has long laid dormant to be built on.

Located west of the highway and south of the CBD, some of the land is already subdivided and blocks are owned by individuals. Larger areas are owned by multiple developers.

Generally landowners pay for their own enabling infrastructure, however, Mayor Hatcher says the sheer number of owners made coordinating this near impossible.

“This funding will allow up to 1,000 new housing lots to start coming onto the market within three years that might otherwise have taken decades, if at all,” he said.

“This is great news for our shire in terms of addressing housing shortages and affordability in the medium to longer-term. I’m very grateful the NSW Government has responded to our calls for help and saw the merit of this project.”

Council’s general manager Warwick Winn said staff had been working on the concept for around 12 months when the funding opportunity came up last October.

He said work on detailed planning and design will start within months, with construction to follow in stages over three years.

“We’ll be getting this project underway as a priority,” Mr Winn said.

“We do, however, need to keep staff, contractor, and material shortages in mind, so we’ll be looking at other projects on our books to see what might need to be pushed out.

“It’s exciting for the town and the shire. Naturally, hundreds of new homes and families will benefit our business and community life, but we need to make sure traffic is managed and open spaces are part of the mix. All of this will be considered,” he said.

“We’ll also be looking at ways to encourage landowners who benefit from this public money to pass on those savings to buyers, ensuring housing affordability becomes a tangible benefit of this project.”

Council will upgrade the precinct’s water and sewer systems as part of the project.

The funding comes courtesy of Round 3 of the NSW Government’s Accelerated Infrastructure Fund, which supports delivery of close to 140,000 new homes in four years across New South Wales. Eurobodalla is one of 36 selected council and agency-led projects sharing in $254.1 million.

---

Don’t miss out on Council news and events, subscribe to our monthly email newsletter.