City of Moreton Bay gives land to community housing providers

Published 31 October 2024

City of Moreton Bay today granted two community housing providers a 50 year ‘peppercorn’ lease over Council land to help alleviate homelessness across the City.

In line with Council’s Housing and Homelessness Action Plan commitments to support the urgent delivery of social and affordable housing, this innovative approach will see Bric Housing and Coast2Bay Housing Group Ltd given tenure over Council-owned land to develop and manage social housing.

Subject to finalising contract negotiations, Bric Housing will develop 72-74 Cox Street, Caboolture; and Coast2Bay Housing Group Ltd will develop 33 Oakey Flat Road, Morayfield.

Mayor Peter Flannery said the current local situation was disheartening, and as the level of government closest to the people, City of Moreton Bay had stepped in to provide solutions and critical support for people experiencing homelessness.

“As a Council, we are motivated to make a difference in the area of housing and homelessness, and I am pleased that this idea, alongside our many other initiatives is coming to life.

“This is a new approach for City of Moreton Bay, and over the last 12 months, we have worked with the community housing and specialist homelessness services sectors to undertake a two-stage Expression of Interest process.

“It was rewarding to see four organisations submit nine different proposals and my thanks for their efforts, innovation and investment, goes to all of them,” Mayor Flannery said.

The proposals were assessed against a range of criteria including public benefit and alignment with strategy; partnerships; capacity to develop; and capacity to manage. Consideration was also given to the mix of social and affordable housing; the targeting of priority populations for tenancies; and the development type and density of the proposed buildings.

Council will work closely with Bric Housing and Coast2Bay Housing Group Ltd to rapidly finalise contracts so they can commence projects quickly.

“The leasing of Council land in Caboolture and Morayfield for this purpose is one of many approaches City of Moreton Bay has taken through our Housing and Homelessness Action Plan, to support people experiencing homelessness across the City,” Mayor Flannery said.

“City of Moreton Bay has experienced a 90% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the last decade according to 2021 Census data.  Over the last two years, referrals of people sleeping rough from Council to support services have increased by a staggering 250%.

“These shocking statistics are also backed up by what I see each and every day.

“Although housing and homelessness are ultimately the responsibility of the State and Federal Government, we can’t turn a blind eye and as a Council we will continue to explore every reasonable option to help combat the impact of the national housing crisis.

“The social housing system has not kept pace with the pressure that has been put on it, and that pressure has increased locally.”

An independent report commissioned by Council states that City of Moreton Bay has less social housing dwellings per 10,000 people than Ipswich, Logan and Redland, and ranks only 4th for communities and housing funding per capita, yet we are one of the fastest growing areas of South East Queensland.

As well as the lease of Council land to community housing providers for activation, City of Moreton Bay has:

• waived over $1 million in development fees and infrastructure charges in fifteen key suburbs across the City for the development of social and affordable housing
• committed a $3.36 million investment to the new Peninsula Support Hub that is currently being built
• financially contributed to the Redcliffe Sleepbus
• employed two Council officers as Public Space Liaison to connect people sleeping rough with Department of Housing and specialist homelessness support services.