How do we address population growth in the Shoalhaven?
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More than 33,000 dwellings will need to be constructed in the region to cater for expected population increases.
Tackling the challenges of infrastructure, ageing, growth and population were all discussed at the Property Council's forum at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on Friday, September 6.
Property Council of Australia Regional director, Illawarra Michelle Guido said the Shoalhaven was one of the fastest growing economies in Australia.
"It's going to grow by over 22,000 people by 2041," she said.
"So the event is about talking about the infrastructure, the growth, how we support that, how we ensure there's jobs and investment for the future and actually discussing some of those economic opportunities for the region."
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Ms Guido said we need to look at affordable housing and ensure we can offer people choice in housing.
"Thinking about affordable housing, and making sure that we have the right strategies in place to have the houses for our communities as it grows," she said.
"Today's event will also be looking at that - where the pockets of growth are and where we need to ensure that we're boosting supply of housing."
Shoalhaven City Council's Economic development manager Greg Pullen said he was confident Shoalhaven had the right planning for the future.
"Definitely, sometimes it gets a little bit out of step but that's the pressures of the economy and the economic changes," he said.
"We've seen more and more people wanting to get out of Sydney and Canberra and Melbourne."
Mr Pullen said the biggest challenge for Shoalhaven City Council was creating jobs to keep up with population increase.
"If we're going to have the population increase, which we know we're going to have, we've got to create the jobs to take up that expectation of those people who've gotten here and want jobs and want employment," he said.
"And so far, over the last 20, 30, 40 years, we've been doing that satisfactorily and creating jobs actually faster than what the population has been coming in."
Over the next 30 years the Shoalhaven's population will increase by around 70,000 and there will need to be 15,000 more jobs.