In the Tasmanian town of Penguin, a plan to turn an old football oval into a housing development has been sent back to the drawing board after concerns from locals. While Australia has an urgent need for more housing, efforts to build new homes are often met with community opposition.
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00:00A quaint seaside town, anxious about a proposed housing development at a former football oval,
00:09a stone's throw from the foreshore.
00:13The plan was for about 50 housing lots, the majority for buyers using the state government's
00:18shared equity scheme, the remainder for much needed social and affordable housing.
00:24But it's back to the drawing board after significant community opposition.
00:28You feel we've been, not bullied so much, but bulldozed into something that we don't
00:34have really any say in.
00:36A local group is concerned the proposal doesn't preserve the site's history and could damage
00:41the town's character.
00:43It wants a smaller development, but with no reduction in the original social and affordable
00:48house numbers.
00:50It is a big space there, but we don't want sardines.
00:54We want to have designed houses.
00:56We don't want every house to be the same colour with the same roof.
01:00Homes Tasmania wants community support, but is focused on easing the housing crisis.
01:07We're likely to come back with a reduced density, but we're balancing the need for more housing
01:12and bigger blocks means fewer houses available on the site.
01:16The Planning Institute of Australia says Tasmania needs tens of thousands more homes in the
01:22next 20 years.
01:23And while it varies from development to development, proposals are often met with opposition.
01:29It can be frustrating, but experts say labelling communities as anti-development is too simplistic.
01:36People who have an understanding about the changes that need to happen in their urban
01:43environment and the reason why are more supportive.
01:48People have to live somewhere.
01:49It probably does need to be developed in some capacity, but what that looks like really
01:54needs to be in keeping with the rest of the aesthetic of the community and certainly not
01:58an overcrowding housing situation.
02:01A new plan is expected early this year.