Shoalhaven and Uralla councils collaborate on affordable housing
Published on 26 March 2025
Staff from Uralla Shire Council have visited an emerging affordable housing project on the South Coast today, as part of a collaboration with Shoalhaven Council.
Shoalhaven City Council staff have been sharing information and practical advice to the Uralla Shire Council about the partnership affordable housing development that is currently under construction at Coomea Street in Bomaderry.
Council provided the land to and is partnering with local community housing provider, Southern Cross Housing, to deliver 39 much needed, long-term affordable dwellings.
Late last year, Uralla Council started looking at similar potential opportunities in its municipality, in the NSW New England region, and reached out to Shoalhaven Council for support to research the process.
“The provision of land for the delivery of affordable housing is one of the ways Councils can play a role in boosting housing opportunities for residents with low or moderate incomes,” said acting Shoalhaven Council CEO James Ruprai.
“I am proud we are continuing to lead by example in this space and paving the way for the creation of more affordable homes in our city and other Councils are learning from our experience,” Mr Ruprai said.
“I’d like to congratulate our staff and our partners Southern Cross Housing on their hard work to realise this much needed development and am delighted they’re now able to assist the Uralla Council as it considers its options to improve housing affordability for its communities,” he said.
The General Manager of Uralla Shire Council, Toni Averay, praised Shoalhaven Council for its affordable housing work and said the information and advice offered had been vital in assisting the shire to investigate its options.
“We’ve learned so much from Shoalhaven’s approach. Their team shared detailed insights that helped us avoid a lot of trial and error. That kind of knowledge-sharing is invaluable to a small council like ours,” Ms Averay said.
“Shoalhaven are leading the way for local governments across NSW,” she said.
The strategy outlines measures for Council to increase housing supply and improve affordability through planning controls, development contributions, use of public land and advocacy efforts.