Housing proposal: where views align and the limitations council sees

Retired barrister Maxwell Stephen Wilson, who prefers to use the name Stephen Wilson, came up with a "visionary" idea he believes could solve the housing crisis.

The idea, in essence, involves either council-owned or Crown land being made available through a leasehold arrangement, whereby people could lease the land for 99 years and be permitted to will that lease to their descendants upon death.

The land would be available via a ballot system, which is means tested. The successful lessors can then select a permissible prefabricated home - which they pay for themselves - to be assembled on their block of land.

The council's director of Environmental, Planning and Building Services, Neil Southorn, met with Mr Wilson to discuss the proposal on February 7, 2024.

Mr Southorn described the meeting as "very amicable", and highlighted the ways Mr Wilson and the council see eye-to-eye.

"We agreed there needs to be more housing delivered in Bathurst, and that there should be more diversity in housing choice to help with affordability," he said.

"Mr Wilson was advocating for good housing design in precincts that also had high amenity for residents, things which council supports and are included in the master plans for new land releases at Laffing Waters and Eglinton, and starting to feature in council's planning controls."

An element of the proposal put forward by Mr Wilson is to have greater residential density in existing areas.

Mr Southorn said the retired barrister is "not alone" in that way of thinking.

"It was a topic canvassed strongly at the Regional Australia Institute National Regional Housing Summit in Canberra on February 9, with housing now being described as "critical infrastructure" to support regional economic growth," he said.

Bathurst council is open to the idea of higher density residential developments, which aligns with Mr Wilson's views.

"In addition to people wanting to move to Bathurst to take up jobs but having trouble finding a house to live in, recent research indicates there are around 800 people in Bathurst seeking assistance to keep a roof over their heads," Mr Southorn said.

"Council's approach will be to consider higher density residential development proposals in keeping with council's aspirations to stimulate housing supply, provided they are located in the right place and done well."

While there were things Mr Southorn agreed with in Mr Wilson's proposal, there are elements to it that would be challenging to implement.

Mr Southorn highlighted the funding model and use of Crown land.

Mr Wilson has suggested that Crown land, and potentially council land, be used for residential housing developments.

The owner of the land would pay to develop the site, including the construction of roads and installation of utility infrastructure.

The costs to develop the land would be recouped from the lessors at the time of entering into the lease.

"Mr Wilson also had some suggestions for funding models to support housing construction, including the use of Crown land, and suggestions specifically targeting people who are currently homeless," Mr Southorn said.

"These suggestions are noted but there are some limitations in council's jurisdiction and ability to implement."