Breaking ground to kick off building of Clarence Plains social homes
Today Mission Australia Housing Executive, Chris Bratchford, Premier of Tasmania, Will Hodgman and community members will gather to celebrate at a ground breaking ceremony for the building of 37 new social and affordable housing properties in Clarendon Vale and Rokeby.
In partnership with the Tasmanian Government and local building company Ronald Young & Co Builders, Mission Australia Housing is working to boost the number of new social and affordable homes in Tasmania.
Under the agreement with the Tasmanian government, Mission Australia Housing will deliver 37 new social and affordable homes in total, with construction already underway. They will also manage the sale of vacant lots to the market, to be developed as private housing. In June, the first stage of 12 private home and land packages in Clarence Plains were sold in one weekend. Funds from the sales of land for the private homes will be invested into the construction of social homes.
Mission Australia Housing will also provide high quality tenancy management for all social housing residents. Supports will be provided to tenants based on their individual needs, linking them with local services and supporting them to maintain their tenancies. Since March 2013, the Tier 1 Community Housing Provider has managed around 500 social homes in Clarendon Vale and Rokeby.
Mission Australia Housing Executive, Chris Bratchford has welcomed the opportunity to contribute new homes to the area and to have the opportunity to help to further strengthen local community ties in Clarence Plains.
“Since we have been managing social housing in Clarence Plains, Mission Australia Housing has prioritised listening to the community and helping them to facilitate their vision for the future. This collaborative effort, guided by the overarching 10 year community Master Plan, has seen a number of community initiatives come to life including the building of these new social homes.
“Mission Australia Housing is pleased to be part of such an important project that will increase the amount of social and affordable housing in Tasmania and further contribute to the community of Clarence Plains.
“The people who live here have contributed to this project to help create a better future and a vibrant community. We are passionate about ensuring all residents have an equal stake in decisions that affect their neighbourhood. They are the experts on their community and they really do have crucial insight into what will strengthen community ties.
“The housing crisis and high cost of rents mean that many people are doing it tough. More than 500,000 low-income households Australia-wide are living in rental stress, spending more than 30% of their incomes on rent.
“Increasingly, home ownership is becoming an unattainable dream for many Australians. Where possible, we look forward to supporting Clarence Plains tenants on their pathway to owning their own home through initiatives like the Tasmanian Government’s HomeShare and Streets Ahead programs,” said Mr Bratchford
Mission Australia Housing in Tasmania was selected as a joint winner of the Leading Community Engagement Practice Award at the 2017 AHI Tasmania Professional Excellence in Housing Awards from a field of six initiatives. The award recognised the Community Housing Provider’s high standard of community service and efforts to engage local tenants to strengthen the local Clarence Plains community.
Mission Australia Housing Tasmania’s Community Development Officer, Matt Durose accepted the award at a ceremony in August.
The award recognises Mission Australia Housing’s strong engagement with tenants for master planning projects in Clarence Plains such as:
- The Resident Steering Committee (RSC) – a tenant advisory group
- One Community Together (OCT) – Mission Australia Housing is a principal facilitator of OCT with the Clarence City Council to improve safety in the community
- GROW – an initiative to improve nutrition outcomes and increase local food security
- The annual Clarence Plains Spring Clean