Regional Housing Statements
Regional Housing Statements were developed to provide a strategic framework for planning for housing needs of metropolitan Melbourne.
Many housing issues cross the boundaries of individual municipalities or apply across the broader metropolitan region. For planning purposes, five regions or groupings of councils and Regional Housing Working Groups were established to represent each region.
Regional Housing Working Groups were created as forums to highlight housing issues and needs, identify challenges, and determine innovative and sustainable approaches to address issues that were specific to each region. This involved:
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developing an understanding of the future housing needs within their region
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identifying particular housing needs emerging for different population groups and or geographic areas
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identifying opportunities to address regional needs
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developing and agreeing on approaches to implement housing policies at a regional level
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receiving guidance in relation to the development of local housing strategies and policies.
The working groups included Councillor and Officer representatives of each member council, a Departmental (Planning) Policy Officer, and Departmental (Office of Housing) Officer. The groupings of councils into regions are shown in the table below:
| Region | Member councils |
|---|---|
| Eastern Region | Boroondara, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash, Stonnington (east of Kooyong Road), Whitehorse, Yarra Ranges |
| Inner Region | Melbourne, Yarra, Port Phillip, Stonnington (west of Kooyong Road) |
| Northern Region | Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whittlesea |
| Southern Region | Bayside, Cardinia, Casey, Frankston, Glen Eira, Greater Dandenong, Kingston, Mornington Peninsula |
| Western Region | Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melton, Moonee Valley, Wyndham |
The working groups were asked to develop Regional Housing Statements. The statements were intended to give guidance and direction at a regional level for local councils in the development of their strategic planning work, including local housing strategies and activity centre structure plans.
A copy of the statements can be found below: