Dubbo councillor Matt Wright gains support for council to investigate 3D-printed homes

The Dubbo councillor has been backed by his colleagues to get Dubbo Regional Council to investigate constructing 3D-printed houses.

He's asked for council to consider setting aside "up to four residential blocks from the Stage 5 Release 3 of Keswick residential land release to enable a trial of 3D printed housing stock, subject to regulatory guidelines".

Council staff will prepare a report to be returned in September that defines the framework for council to meet its legislative requirements, minimises the costs to council, and attracts competitive proposals to trial the 3D printing technology suitable for the regional NSW housing market.

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Cr Wright said 3D printed technology, which is already being used "quite heavily" in the medical and automotive industries, had "unlimited potential".

While the idea of printing a house is still relatively new around the world, it's been gaining popularity in recent years. Cr Wright said Germany, Italy and the United States were already printed either entire houses, or parts.

"[Printed houses] are very, very efficient when it comes to a reduction in excess building materials and also the speed at which getting them to market. A lot of he players in the industry claim they could potentially be building houses in a matter of weeks rather than a matter of months," Cr Wright said.

"That's really important in the environment we're currently in whereby we have such a demand for housing, especially low-cost housing, which could be produced for market very quickly."

However, Cr Wright said it would not take away the need for tradespeople. They would still be needed for tasks like fitting the kitchens, painting, and installing the electrical works.

Up to four blocks in Keswick Estate will be earmarked for the printed homes. It won't be part of the Keswick land release coming up soon, but the next stage, which Cr Wright said would be in late-2023.

"We do have 18 months or so to look at these 3D-printed houses as an option. I would hope that in the next 18 months to two years we see some advances in this type of technology and Dubbo could potentially be a bit of a shining light and show that in regional NSW we are leaders in technology advancement," Cr Wright said.

Councillor Vicki Etheridge is also keen to investigate the possibility of 3D-printed houses.

"Technology is just going ahead in leaps and bounds and if we don't embrace it we're going to be left behind. It's the way of the future," she said.

Cr Etheridge said the motion raised by Cr Wright didn't lock the council into anything, it would just ensure they could investigate the possibility.

For Cr Wright, the motion is a way of starting a conversion, and encouraging the community to consider alternate means of housing, not just the traditional methods.

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