Construction began this week on a subdivision at Westdale, and Tamworth Regional Council Mayor Russell Webb said the development would help address the demand for larger residential blocks as the city continued to grow.
Mayor Webb was excited about the new development, but said more certainty was needed to encourage further development.
The first sod was turned this week at Talee Estate, on Mayne Drive, where 47 residential lots are planned, including blocks of about 4000 square metres.
Mayor Webb said the development would provide an option that had been missing from that side of Tamworth, with interest in larger blocks reflecting the lifestyle opportunities attracting people to regional cities.
“We were very excited when this subdivision got approved for another lot of 4,000 square metre blocks on that side of the city,” he said.
“We’ve done our best as a council for many, many years to try and maintain our CBD in the centre of the urban areas and we’ve got housing developments all around the city. We did need something to happen out towards that direction.”
He said he understood 16 lots had already been sold, showing demand for larger blocks.
“That just tells me there’s a lot of interest in Tamworth and a lot of interest in that size block,” he said.
Brightway Development Group chief executive Edward Fernon said Tamworth’s employment growth and its position as one of regional NSW’s largest markets had helped drive the decision to invest in the city.
The company bought the site three years ago, and Mr Fernon said growth had continued since the project began.
He said Westdale provided an opportunity for larger family and lifestyle blocks and workers who wanted to live close to their jobs.
“This one is really offering family lots to the market in Westdale and also, I think, not too much has been developed in Westdale recently, so we see this as another example of this side of town really kicking off again,” Mr Fernon said.
The development could also benefit people who live in Tamworth but commute to Gunnedah for work.
“To even tap into all of those workers that want to live in Tamworth but work in Gunnedah, for example, it saves a significant amount of time on their commute to be on that side of town,” he said.
The construction begins as Tamworth faces the challenge of providing enough housing to support employment growth and people moving to the region.
Baiada opened its Oakburn processing plant on Gunnedah Road last month, with the company predicting they will add another 700 to 800 jobs and Singapore Airlines also opened its flying college at Tamworth Airport in April, expecting 200 cadets a year.
Tamworth Regional Council’s Housing Strategy identifies a need for between 191 and 356 new dwellings annually up to 2041.
Mayor Webb said the city’s housing needs included family homes as well as accommodation for workers moving to the region.
“I think there’s a real need for mixed accommodation,” he said.
“There will be co-share accommodation needed for a lot of the workers into the future but we also need to have people coming to the city who will bring their families and those people will more than likely be looking for work or they’ll have work here.
“I think that’s very exciting because people are relocating from city areas because of the congestion and because of the lifestyle opportunities when they come to regional cities and Tamworth’s obviously on the hit list when people are looking for quality of life for their children, good schooling, good health,” he said.
Mr Fernon said the regional housing challenge required more than planning approvals, with homes needing to progress to construction to meet demand.
Through Brightway’s corporate accommodation business, Workstays, he said the company regularly heard from employers seeking accommodation for their staff.
“The regions, I think, have been overlooked for too long. Not just Tamworth, but many, many areas around the regions experiencing significantly low vacancy rates,” Mr Fernon said.
He said the company was looking at different housing models in regional NSW, including smaller self-contained accommodation for singles and couples, alongside traditional residential developments.
Mayor Webb said council was talking with developers about the types of housing that could be delivered on land already zoned for residential and urban use, but there also needed to be certainty for developers to invest in the region.
“Across the city itself we’re having a lot of discussions with developers about what type of housing can they provide in the different areas that are zoned for housing and residential and urban use,” he said.
“One of the challenges we face in our communities, at Council and that developers and investors are facing is there is a lot of uncertainty about when the accommodation is going to be needed for the renewable sector and because of that uncertainty nobody’s prepared to invest until they actually know some timelines.
“Nobody’s going to build accommodation facilities unless they can actually rent them out or lease them in a reasonable period of time. Just at the moment that certainty is not really floating around.”
Mr Fernon said the Westdale development should be completed in about six months.
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