A push to try and guarantee affordable housing on council-owned land at Lennox Head has been voted down, with councillors warning the economics of coastal development make low-cost homes unlikely.

The failed amendment, put forward by Greens councillor Kiri Dicker, came during Monday night’s Finance and Facilities Committee meeting.

Cr Dicker, who promised to deliver affordable housing at the Hutley Drive site as part of her unsuccessful mayoral campaign in 2024, sought a legally binding mechanism to ensure a portion of homes would be available to workers on lower incomes.

Instead, councillors backed a broader plan to move ahead with rezoning and increased housing density on the site, without locking in any affordability requirement.

The recommendation will now go to the full council meeting later this month for final endorsement.

‘Not willing to trust the market’

Cr Dicker said the community had been promised housing for essential workers and warned the proposal lacked any real guarantee of affordability.

“I’m not willing to sort of trust this idea that we’ll build it like this and then… maybe it’ll be affordable,” she said.

She pointed to the council’s now abandoned key-worker housing concept at Wollongbar as a cautionary example, where council ultimately determined affordable housing would end up costing ratepayers.

Councillors also argued that affordable and public housing was the responsibility of state government and not local councils.

Not accepting that argument, Cr Dicker said stronger action was needed to deliver “genuinely affordable housing” for local key workers.

Main image: A map of the council-owned site, Above: One of the possible building design layouts as presented to council by its planning consultant. This plan if approved could house up to 513 residents.

Cr Simon Kinny

Economics ‘don’t stack up’

But councillors pushed back, with Cr Simon Kinny questioning whether low-cost housing was even possible on prime coastal land like Lennox Head.

“I just don’t see how the economics stack up,” he said.

He told the chamber land and construction costs would likely push even modest homes close to $1 million at today’s prices.

“How is a key worker on a lowish income ever going to afford that?” he said.

Legal limits flagged

Council’s general manager, Paul Hickey, also warned there were limits to how far council could go in trying to lock in outcomes.

“You can try and bind a future council… but I don’t believe you can actually legally bind a future council,” he said.

Mr Hickey noted any agreement imposed by the current council could ultimately be undone by a future council, particularly where council remained the landowner.

Mayor Sharon Cadwallader described the site as potentially the last major parcel of residential property available to council to develop, thereby helping fund infrastructure and keep rates low.

“This is our last lot of land… this is our last hurrah,” she said.

She said the proposal would allow council to plan for future growth while making better use of its remaining land assets.

The debate comes as council faces ongoing budget pressure and awaits a decision on its proposed special rate variation, raising further questions about limiting the site’s future value.

The endorsed plan will now move forward to investigate increased density and planning changes, but without any guarantee that homes will be affordable for local workers.