![Overview of Creswick in the Hepburn Shire. Picture by Lachlan Bence. Overview of Creswick in the Hepburn Shire. Picture by Lachlan Bence.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/173106531/2b038fed-fa79-410a-b14b-7f9fc3b302fc.jpg/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Balancing the need for affordable living while facilitating the Hepburn Shire's largest industry is at the heart of its new draft housing strategy.
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Businesses have identified a lack of housing, compared to other regions, has reduced the shire's ability to attract staff.
But with tourism the biggest money producer in the city, accounting for 738 jobs in 2021 and an output of $122 million, the need for short-term accommodation, like AirBnb properties, is a high priority.
The strategy identifies affordability, availability and appropriateness are all issues when it comes to housing within the shire.
Despite housing solutions typically coming from a state and federal government level, the council has identified ways it can help the housing situation within the shire.
Within the next year council plans to implement an awareness campaign to highlight the "critical need" for affordable housing and encourage owners to make homes available as long-term rentals.
The campaign will also include education about options to increase housing density while protecting heritage streetscapes.
Increased access to local Home Share programs and multi-generation living arrangements is also a goal.
Their medium-term focuses include developing a building co-operative to manage housing and encouraging projects like tiny homes and eco-villages.
Within the planning regulations the council are looking to facilitate secondary dwellings such as tiny homes or caravans.
This was an issue highlighted by different community members during consultation.
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Some residents would like to see the ability for movable homes like caravans or tiny homes to be lived in longer-term.
For issues which fall under other governmental jurisdictions, the council has indicated it would advocate for changes to negative gearing taxes to encourage more long-term rentals.
They would also like to see continued financial support for first home buyers.
The draft strategy explains balancing the relationship between housing, service delivery and the economy can be "complex", especially as Daylesford Macedon Tourism said overnight visitors spent four to five times as much per person compared to day-trippers.
"Both are required to support" the local economy, the document said.
On the flip side, 2008 properties were unoccupied in the shire on census night, twice the rate of the state average.
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Alongside this strategy, the council is also redeveloping township plans.
Housing supply is affected by the amount of appropriately zoned land available.
The strategy said there was "a sufficient amount" of land in Clunes and Creswick to be developed, but towns like Daylesford, Hepburn Springs and Trentham were limited by town boundaries.
Other levels of government are working towards developing housing strategies as similar housing issues are faced across the country.
The state government has flagged it will release a plan to build more homes in September.
Meanwhile, the federal government is looking to get its Housing Australia Future Fund bill through parliament during the June sitting weeks after the Greens and Liberals voted it down last month.
The community can submit their feedback via council's website.
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