Council & Business
10 August, 2023
Talbot’s housing support units call for new volunteers
Expanding the scope of social housing is on the agenda with Talbot Community Homes now seeking new committee members to join the initiative and work towards developing additional residences. The Central Goldfield Shire Council currently owns two...
Expanding the scope of social housing is on the agenda with Talbot Community Homes now seeking new committee members to join the initiative and work towards developing additional residences.
The Central Goldfield Shire Council currently owns two units in Talbot under the Talbot Community Homes program which is managed by the newly established Community Asset Committee consisting of three office bearers — the president, secretary and treasurer.
Located on Camp Street, these two bedroom apartments were built in the 1980s to provide affordable housing opportunities to locals, particulary older residents, who wanted to continue living in the town.
To help manage the units, the group has issued a call for two new volunteer members to sign up and oversee a range of diverse tasks related to the properties — with expressions of interest (EOI) now being accepted until August 25.
Alongside the pre-existing units, presently occupied by two individuals, the council also owns another parcel of undeveloped land that could be used for building similar residences under the new committee, according to councillor Chris Meddows-Taylor.
“One of the things that the committee has been keen to do is to find further investments and grow the number of units available from two to maybe six,” he said.
“Part of that is dependent on securing additional funding from government sources over time which the current committee plans on doing.
“So, we’re looking for another couple of community members that council will appoint to join the committee and help with the issue of how we might develop those homes.”
Cr Meddows-Taylor, who is also part of the committee as Talbot’s elected representative, said it was a great chance for people interested in the social housing cause to put their hand up.
“This is an exciting opportunity for locals who are interested in community housing, community living and community welfare,” he said.
“It’s particularly for people who have got a business sense about growth and investments — [who have insight] on how we can take the assets we have and multiply them.
“One of the things we’d really like to explore with the new committee is how we can use the housing funds that have been announced as part of the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games.”
Following the Victorian Government’s decision to can the games last month, premier Daniel Andrews unveiled a plan to invest about $1 billion towards social housing across the state.
Expecting to benefit from a portion of that funding, Cr Meddows-Taylor said that the committee would come up with a plan to help residents by providing more homes in the future.
“The group will see what’s available to them and what we can mix and match with the cash we have in the bank and our existing asset base — both land and units, it’s about seeing how we can grow and develop that,” he said.
“Maintaining the properties to give proper access to people and letting them know what’s available to look after them is the real objective.
“But we also really need to see how we can grow and offer more services within the community.”
In line with the housing crisis impacting areas around Victoria, these units provide some respite but there is potential to do more.
“Our units probably play some role [in reducing the burden lack of housing brings], but not as much as a role as the committee would like to play,” Cr Meddows-Taylor said.
“That’s why there’s a big pressure to see if we can build more units. We want to build more, what we’ve got is fairly small but it is still very important and hopefully we can build on that.
“At the moment Talbot is positioned for significant growth within the shire which is why we need new ideas, new inputs and new thinking.”
Emphasing the continued difference the two homes have made to the community, Cr Meddows-Taylor encouraged people to apply for the open positions and uplift the lives of fellow residents.
“While these aren’t retirement units, they have been generally been occupied by older people,” he said.
“As is the case with other communities, as people get older, they need to downsize and these people possibly may not be able to stay with community if they have to go a retirement place in Maryborough or Ballarat.
“With these units, people aren’t [forced to leave], they can stay in their community and they can have affordable, well-maintained accommodation right in the heart of the community they’ve been a part of and to me, that’s a fine thing.”
Individuals interested in submitting an EOI to join the committee can email mail@cgoldshire.vic.gov.au with the subject line EOI — Talbot Community Homes Community Asset Committee.
Applicants must provide relevant information including name and address, explain their interest in the position and elaborate on their skill set applicable for the role.
Appointments are expected to take place at the start September.