Landcom scales back Lake housing project after community feedback

A housing estate slated to transform the western side of Lake Macquarie has already been scaled back due to public feedback despite community consultation remaining open, its backer says.

Landcom, the NSW government-owned corporation responsible for providing housing, is pushing ahead with plans to build a 380-lot housing estate in bushland west of Toronto Road at Fennell Bay.

The project was first tabled in 2019 and initially proposed 650 lots to help tackle the housing affordability crisis.

Landcom recently released a fresh masterplan for the Fennell Bay estate, which reduces the development to 380 lots. A minimum of 10 per cent of dwellings will be offered as affordable housing.

In-person community consultation sessions were held on June 2 to give residents the opportunity to learn more about the revised masterplan and provide feedback.

"The consultation period remains open until [Tuesday] June 16, after which Landcom will publish a community outcomes report summarising what was heard," a spokesperson for Landcom said.

"In response to previous community feedback and further design reviews, Landcom has significantly reduced the development footprint, bringing proposed homes down from more than 600 to around 380, with approximately 70 per cent of the site retained as bushland conservation land."

The housing crisis is a growing issue in Lake Macquarie.

Lake Macquarie City Council's draft Housing Strategy, which is on exhibition, revealed the local government area was expected to fall 1589 dwellings short of its target of 8,000 new dwellings by mid-2029 set by the National Housing Accord.

The strategy also showed that Lake Macquarie had a rental vacancy of 1.1 per cent and that 37 per cent of those renting homes were experiencing stress. The Australian average for those suffering rental stress is 32.2 per cent.

While housing affordability is a recognised problem on the western side of Lake Macquarie, the biggest issue raised in feedback over the Fennell Bay Landcom project was the traffic impact on Toronto Road.

The route which stretches north to Five Islands Road at Teralba and Speers Point is one of the Hunter's most notorious bottlenecks.

Landcom's masterplan for Fennell Bay proposes to create a buffer zone between Toronto Road and the housing estate for future road upgrades.

The Newcastle Herald asked Landcom if funding would be allocated to Transport for NSW to upgrade Toronto Road and if the infrastructure improvement would be completed before the residential development.

"The delivery and timing of road upgrades, including any potential contribution to Transport for NSW, will be subject to further planning and ongoing discussions," the spokesperson said.

The new Fennell Bay masterplan shows the housing estate will be split into three distinct sections, separated by ephemeral corridors and a community park. All lots would be situated within 400 metres of parkland.

Around 193 hectares of the 265ha site will be conserved in perpetuity through the establishment of a biodiversity stewardship agreement.

"Biodiversity areas will be managed as conservation land, with maintenance arrangements determined through the planning process in consultation with relevant agencies," the spokesperson said.

The construction timeline is loosely scheduled for 2028 but will be confirmed when the planning approval process is complete.

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