![One of the styles of prefabricated housing the council is looking at. One of the styles of prefabricated housing the council is looking at.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nB9BrLNgExsfwsLgDBevWP/b708a376-baa1-4888-adfc-61807554bbe7.jpg/r17_0_1083_599_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A $10 million key worker housing estate could be built on council-owned land near the former saleyards as part of a fast-track plan to address Warrnambool's accommodation crisis.
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The "unique" idea will go before councillors on Monday November 6, 2023 who will vote on whether to seek expressions of interest from housing providers.
Feedback from community, organisations and employers would also be sought for the project that is in its very early stages but if successful could see 40 to 50 new one, two and three-bedroom homes along Harrington Road in a year or so.
After hearing stories of people having to live in caravans for 12 weeks when they move to Warrnambool for work because they can't find accommodation, the council has decided to act and come up with an idea they hope will bring a quick solution.
Council data shows there is a shortfall of 120 homes in Warrnambool, and the proposal could almost half the problem in 12 to 18 months if approved.
The project would also be immune from the delays in the building industry because of the prefabricated design, the council says.
While the homes will be prefabricated and moved to the site, they will be high quality and come with a seven-star rating.
Under the state government's recent planning changes, the land is now eligible to be fast-tracked from its farming zoning to be used for housing. It will also be landscaped and have appropriate off-street parking.
The other half will be used as affordable housing for women and children.
In order to be eligible for much of the state and federal government funding for key worker housing projects, the council said it had to be involved and a housing provider needed to be based in the region - something the region doesn't currently have.
"The initiation of this project can assist a housing agency to have adequate portfolio of housing to enable a local presence and then pursue further developments to increase housing stock," the council says.
"This will not only benefit Warrnambool but the whole of the south-west."
The project is expected to cost about $10 million but that money would come from state and federal governments. Council is spending $30,000 on facilitating the idea.
![The block of land that has been earmarked for a key worker housing project. The block of land that has been earmarked for a key worker housing project.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nB9BrLNgExsfwsLgDBevWP/9a0a8027-5918-493c-be84-51bda4623865.png/r2_0_1085_607_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The council says the project is big enough to lure a housing provider to the region who would be tasked with managing the estate for 10 to 15 years.
After that time, the houses can be moved to another location and the land returned to the council.
The council says the National Finance and Investment Corporation and Homes Victoria have expressed interest in further exploring what they call a "unique proposal".
How bad is Warrnambool's housing crisis?
A council report in 2019 found there was a shortfall of 1430 dwellings in Warrnambool which was set to grow to 2812 by 2036.
But in order to ease the immediate severe crisis, the council says 120 rental homes are needed now.
![The block of land that has been earmarked for a key worker housing project. The block of land that has been earmarked for a key worker housing project.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nB9BrLNgExsfwsLgDBevWP/775173dd-94a2-438e-b151-ec9792693d30.png/r0_0_1087_611_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"The development of 40-50 units to cater for key worker accommodation and affordable housing is expected to considerably ease the housing crisis," the council says.
Warrnambool has a rental vacancy rate of just 0.8 per cent - well below the four per cent required for a healthy market.
Demand has sent the median rental price to $500 - an increase of $100 a week in two years - putting one in three in rental stress.
Just 18 per cent of properties in Warrnambool are used as rental accommodation - "significantly" lower than the state average of 30 per cent.
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