This consultation has now closed. Council adopted the Launceston Housing Plan 2025-2040 at the Council Meeting on 29 May 2025.
Housing is a universal human need and having the right kind of home for your stage of life is critical to feeling safe in your community. Across Australia, housing has become increasingly inaccessible, and this has a negative impact on the people impacted and the places they live.
Launceston is not immune from these nation-wide challenges.
The City of Launceston is taking a proactive approach to addressing our city's housing challenges by developing a new Housing Plan. This Housing Plan will guide the residential development over the next 15 years with the aim to increase the number of homes, provide more choice, and increase affordability while protecting what we love about Launnie.
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A housing plan is a key strategic planning document outlining council's approach to addressing housing needs and challenges.
City of Launceston's Housing Plan will aim to address these needs and challenges by enabling supply and delivering greater housing diversity over the next 15 years.
Council last prepared and adopted a residential strategy in 2009. Since adoption, the economic, demographic and settlement patterns of Tasmania have significantly changed.
It was determined that an updated housing plan that reflected more contemporary housing requirements was needed to address the changing housing landscape.
Launceston, as well as Tasmanian more broadly, has seen significant changes in population and the housing market. These have resulted in the following challenges arising:
Affordability: The rise in housing costs since 2019 has intensified. It is now harder to find affordable rental accommodation and homes for purchase.
Growing inequality: Launceston is experiencing housing inequality. People on lower incomes are facing escalating disadvantage. Housing insecurity impacts social cohesion and economic participation.
Shortage of new homes: A lack of forward planning and new infrastructure have limited development and pushed growth to suburbs that are further from the services of Launceston.
Lack of diversity: In terms of housing, one size does not fit all. Most new housing in Launceston continues to be houses with backyards. Retired and young people do not necessarily desire this kind of home but have trouble finding other options.
Councils have a major role to play in housing delivery as the level of government responsible for determining where homes, businesses and services should be located. It is also the role of council to review proposed developments against the planning scheme. These functions can influence the local housing market.
It should be noted that most councils do not construct and deliver houses to the market, with this being provided through private entities such as developers or property owners, and State agencies, such as Homes Tasmania.
The Launceston Housing Plan 2025-2040 was adopted at the Ordinary Council Meeting on 29 May 2025.
The housing plan outlines how Launceston will meet the housing needs of its community over the next 15 years.
The housing plan will be implemented through several key projects, including neighbourhood planning, outlined in the action plan.
Check out the current Neighbourhood Plan for St Leonards and Waverley.
The Housing Plan is the overarching document to guide development across the whole Launceston municipality.
The St Leonards and Waverley Neighbourhood Plan is a key action of the housing plan and focuses on the plan for future growth of St Leonards and Waverley area. Further details on this Neighbourhood Plan can be found here: St Leonards and Waverley Neighbourhood Plan.
Launceston is expected to need around 6,450 new homes over the next 15 years.
The goal is to balance new housing in existing urban areas with new developments in identified growth corridors (see page 50 of the Housing Plan) .
The Launceston Housing Plan 2025 - 2040 acknowledges the importance of heritage by aiming to balance new housing development with the protection of Launceston’s historic character.
It includes actions to unlock underutilised heritage buildings for housing while ensuring new developments respect the city's unique architectural and cultural heritage.
The Plan recognises that homelessness is a growing issue in Launceston.
While the Council does not build housing, it plans to work with government agencies and housing providers to improve access to affordable homes.
MORNING SESSION - COMPLETED
Presentation on the Housing Plan with opportunities for Q&A's. Light refreshments to be provided.
Where: Town Hall Reception Room, 18-28 St John Street, Launceston.
Register here to come along.
EVENING SESSION - COMPLETED
Presentation on the Housing Plan with opportunities for Q&A's. Light refreshments to be provided.
Where: Town Hall Reception Room, 18-28 St John Street, Launceston.
Register here to come along.
The City of Launceston are preparing a Neighbourhood Plan for the St Leonards and Waverley area. The Neighbourhood Plan will guide how the local area will develop and improve over time to create liveable communities.
St Leonards and Waverley are growing and we need a clear plan for how and where. Planned growth through a Neighbourhood Plan ensures local characteristics that the community love can be protected, and potential impacts such as increasing traffic can be managed.
Have questions or want to learn more about a project, contact us below:
| Phone | 03 6323 3000 |
|---|---|
| contactus@launceston.tas.gov.au | |
| Website | www.launceston.tas.gov.au |
