The Landcom affordable housing development at Bristol Circuit, Goonellabah, has progressed to the DA (development application) stage, so a step closer to becoming a reality if Lismore City Council planners approve it.

As previously stated, 44 Bristol Circuit will provide 16 one-, two-, and three-bedroom townhouses that will house local workers.

The DA shows dwellings consisting of:

• 4 x 1-bedroom
• 8 x 2-bedroom
• 4 x 3-bedroom

Access will be via Blue Hills Avenue (off Taylors Road) for the 1 and 3-bedroom townhouses and Bristol Circuit for the 2-bedroom townhouses, with two separate parking areas. There will be 25 on-site car parking spaces: 20 for residents and 5 for visitors.

The 2-bedroom townhouses feature one bedroom downstairs with an ensuite, and the second bedroom upstairs, with the main bathroom. In comparison, the 3-bedroom townhouses have one bedroom downstairs with an ensuite, and two bedrooms upstairs, with the main bathroom.

The kitchen and living areas are on the second floor. Each dwelling has a courtyard and deck.

The landscaping will include a permeable fence, screening trees to Taylors Road, with a resident's western lawn below between the two and three-bedroom townhouses.

There will be a second resident's lawn in front of the two-bedroom townhouses leading to Bristol Circuit.

Each dwelling will have screening shrubs or trees off the courtyard and decks.

The Bristol Circuit development has undergone changes since it was first put forward by Landcom.

Initially, the development was intended to include an allocation of social and affordable housing for any low- to middle-income residents; however, after community consultations, the majority of nearby residents expressed concerns that it would have a negative impact on the existing neighbourhood, lowering property values and potentially increasing crime through the influx of undesirable tenants.

Lowering the value of neighbouring properties was disputed by BB Professional Services, which put together a Social Impact Study providing examples of similar developments in Brisbane and Sydney.

The community feedback led Landcom to modify the Bristol Circuit plan to only accommodate local workers with low to middle incomes, such as nurses, ambulance paramedics, firefighters, childcare workers, aged care workers, teachers, sales assistants, receptionists, and cleaners.

One aspect that neighbouring homes didn't change is the aesthetics of 16 medium-density housing options in close proximity to a more typical house on a 600- to 800-square-metre block of land. Of course, changing this aspect would make the rents more unaffordable and defeat the purpose of what Landcom is trying to achieve, which is to create more affordable rental stock in the Lismore LGA that is out of flood.

In summary, BB Professional Services said the "overall impact of the proposed development will clearly be positive".

The details of the development are now very clear, one important aspect is missing and won't be known until completion. What is an affordable rental worth per week?