Here at The Bugle we will always champion providing frank and fearless reporting on what is best for the community and have a strong View on what we think that means. So, it is a little strange for us to not have a View on something as important as more than a thousand new homes for our area.

Our very own Brendan Foye broke the story of the Springside Hill proposal to significantly increase housing supply at the western end of Kiama. At this stage, full details of the proposal have not been released, but Kiama Council has said that it intends to make all documents available to the public, shortly – a step they normally don’t take, which highlights the importance of the proposal to our future.

Of keen interest, and what has widely been reported is a “25 percent guarantee” from the developer Traders in Purple, which is designed to allow those who are presently locked out of the housing market, a helping hand to purchase or rent their own home. This includes “key workers”, first-home buyers, locals and those who are looking for affordable or community rental housing.

Whilst no one can disagree that we are in a housing crisis, our View is that we will wait and see the finer details of the proposal before having a position on what this means for our community.

Questions need to be asked and answered:

How is this different to the South Kiama proposal?

-What is the plan for sewerage given the constraints on sewer and Sydney Water?

-Do we finally get another supermarket and other jobs?

-This is the start of the rezoning process, and the developer has said that construction will take place ‘over decades’. When the documents are made public, The Bugle, will review them in detail so we can provide the community with a well-informed View.

But first things first, we want to hear from you.

We are in a housing crisis where the average house price is $1.3m and it costs $700 a week to rent a home.

Is this the solution to housing affordability for the area?

Would it be better for Kiama to go ‘up’ and not ‘out’?

Let us know, because at this stage and throughout the planning process, your View matters.