SINGLETON’S accommodation crisis has hit almost biblical proportions with literally no beds available at the inn or anywhere else for that matter as a combination of local jobs growth and a chronic housing shortage force people to make alternate sleeping arrangements.
Anecdotal evidence suggests would-be renters are opting to take their chances with informal bed and breakfast arrangements during the week living in the “spare” bedroom and those with a room to rent are starting to advertise the fact hoping to gain extra income during the current crisis.
Those renters lucky enough to have a home in Singleton can legally rent out their spare bedrooms provided they have the owner’s approval to do so and many are taking this option according to local real estate agents.
The housing crisis is likely to get worse with major construction companies looking to place many hundreds of employees in the district in the coming year.
This is in addition to the opening of major new national retail outlets Bunnings and Aldi whose staff, if they don’t already live in Singleton,will have to travel unless they too can find local accommodation.
Only this week state approval was given to the expansion of the Warkworth open-cut coal mine with expectations of an extra 150 jobs.
And if you thought you could obtain accommodation at nearby Branxton the situation is just as tight with no vacancy available there either.
Even vineyard accommodation is being used for visiting professionals who have to work in Singleton with operators along Old North Road regularly taking bookings because there are no beds left in Singleton.
For the builder of the Hunter Expressway – Abigroup Contractors Pty Ltd finding accommodation for their staff is a major problem.
With 300 workers currently on-site the company has been forced to use serviced apartments when staff have been relocated to the region said Lois Bird, personal assistant, central Region Engineering Team, Abrigroup Contractors Pty Ltd.
“We often use service apartments in situations like these where we have to relocate staff to major projects but in this area staff are having to stay much longer in the apartments because they can’t find suitable accommodation,” she said.
With the work on the expressway expected to last until August 2013 (depending on the weather) the company expects to be using apartments for sometime.
Singleton Chamber of Commerce, president, Tony Charlesworth said as a local real estate agent he was hearing all the stories about subletting of rooms and homes becoming de facto bed and breakfasts.
“I am also getting a lot of inquiry from investors looking to buy or build rental accommodation in the town so obviously there is a big demand out there and it will only get bigger unless immediate action is taken,” Mr Charlesworth said.
“We back over the same question how to solve the housing problem and no one has a magic solution but what’s obvious is we need more residential land.”
Mr Charlesworth has proposed as a way forward and as a way of addressing the residential land shortage to hold a forum between Singleton Council and major land developers such as Stockland, Buildev and Landcom and hear from the developers about how they could invest in the area.
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