Steel flags bigger block consolidations to boost 'missing middle' housing in suburbs

The ACT Government is looking at allowing greater consolidation of blocks to promote the development of more ‘missing middle’ housing in existing suburbs, including RZ1 residential areas.

It is also planning to bring all parties together to work on ways to boost the number of homes being built overall in the ACT and support the aims of the National Housing Accord.

Planning Minister Chris Steel told the ACT Property Council on Tuesday that he was considering broader block consolidation provisions as a key reform to permit more low-rise, medium-density housing in the ACT.

In a major speech on his planning agenda for the year, Mr Steel said larger consolidated blocks would allow developers to build more homes in a single project, increasing the viability of a development.

Mr Steel said any reform would happen in tandem with the new Missing Middle Design Guide being developed to ensure desirable outcomes for future residents and streetscapes.

“Consolidation of multiple blocks allows missing middle housing developments to be better balanced across a larger site and provides room for living infrastructure such as trees that will make these homes a better place to live,” he said.

The government was planning a draft Major Plan Amendment to the Territory Plan to remove barriers such as this to missing middle housing, but it would also support the Design Guide, which would promote existing suburban character, landscape and amenity, and innovative design responses to the new planning system.

Mr Steel said more missing middle housing would provide a greater diversity of housing types and mean more choices for buyers.

Broad community consultation on these two measures was expected to start in the coming months, with the government aiming to embed the changes into the planning system by the end of this year.

The government worked closely with consultants Urbis and Stewart Architecture to develop the draft Design Guide and Major Plan Amendment alongside local industry representatives and practitioners.

“The insight from this engagement has been invaluable, and feedback from organisations like the Property Council and local design practitioners has been built into the current drafting for consideration by government,” Mr Steel said.

“I am confident that these reforms are feasible and will deliver the outcomes of more homes being built ahead of consultation with the broader community.”

Mr Steel also announced that the government would bring together relevant agencies and industry to clear away regulatory barriers to boost the supply and affordability of new housing.

The first meeting to develop this “productivity agenda” would be a part of the existing Planning and Construction Industry Chief Executive Reference Group (PACICERG) next month, to which Mr Steel would be inviting representatives from agencies that have a role in building and planning approvals, such as Evo Energy and Icon Water.

“Similar to the red tape reduction taskforce, this work will identify specific targeted and agreed reforms to inform future regulatory change with the aim of supporting the supply and affordability of housing,” he said.

But Mr Steel said that lease variation charges and developer licensing would not be on the table.

Mr Steel used the occasion to highlight the government’s move to ban third-party appeals to ACAT for public housing projects through the Territory Priority Projects Bill, calling on Liberal planning spokesperson Peter Cain, sitting in the audience at the National Press Club, to support it.

He also indicated that the review of the Urban Forest Act would also speed up new housing by being better aligned “with government priorities”.

The property industry finds tree canopy rules and what denotes a regulated tree can often lead to delays in approvals and increases in costs for developers.

“There’s a very practical instrument that’s on the table that could be disallowed by the ACT Legislative Assembly,” Mr Steel said.

“We want to make sure that that gets through, which will have practical benefits in terms of providing new housing.”

Mr Steel also said the planned merger of Transport Canberra and City Services, the Environment Planning Sustainable Development Directorate, and Access Canberra later this year would also help to speed up approval times.

“This is about ensuring that we bring land use planning together with transport planning and using executive functions of government to ensure that the existing and new residents are connected with transport, infrastructure, jobs and services,” he said.