Community
21 January, 2024
Mega housing estate
QUEENSLAND’S largest social housing development at Woree has been given the green light by Cairns Regional Council despite fears it will become a ghetto.
The 490-home development at the former Cairns Coral Drive-In site at Woree will provide homes to some of the city’s most vulnerable cohorts.
The council has also waived $8.6 million in infrastructure charges and allowed an extension until 2029 for the project to proceed.
But division 2 councillor Rob Pyne told last month’s council meeting he feared it would become “a crime-ridden squalor”.
He described the project, designed for single or couples aged 55-plus, as an “unprecedented social experiment”.
Cr Pyne likened the proposal to the notorious council estates of England, the Melbourne towers as well as the Grove St pensioner cottages in Cairns, Brophy St at Westcourt and Chaplain Ave, Manunda.
He said the day it opened it would be “beautiful” but in 10 years would become rundown and a slum.
Cr Brett Olds agreed, saying it was too dense, “too many people in there”.
He said it was a knee-jerk reaction to the housing crisis.
Cr Cathy Zieger, who represents the division where the project is being built, said it would be well managed by Community Housing Australia Ltd and aimed at over 55s – singles or couples and no families.
She said when completed, the development would make “a huge difference to the older, more vulnerable members of our community”. “By providing housing for over 55s it frees up homes for families that may be currently occupied by one or two older people. I have been told there will be six staff on site, with security during the initial period as everyone settles in.”
Cr Zeiger said the state government was helping to fund the project.
Mayor Terry James said that the council had actively worked with the proponent to facilitate expedited approvals considering the housing crisis. “Almost three months to the day, council has assessed and approved Queensland’s largest social and affordable housing project,” he said. It was approved by the council. Cr Pyne, Cr Olds and Cr Amy Eden voted against the project.
