More than 250 homes for people in need will be built in one of the region’s more disadvantaged suburbs as part of a state government redevelopment program.

The Tolland Renewal Project will see the building of almost 500 new homes in Wagga’s south, 180 of which will be dedicated to social housing.

Wagga MP Joe McGirr said the signing of the Tolland Estate agreement between state government and local social housing bodies was the “beginning a journey”.

Dr McGirr said the project was not just about building physical homes.

“It’s also a renewal of the physical environment, the roads and the landscape around them,” he said.

“It’s also about renewed support for the people living in those communities … support services are going to be a critical element of this renewal.”

Exactly what those services will look like is yet to be formalised but specific housing for families, seniors and single residents will be provided.

Specific funding will also be allocated to housing and services for women facing situations of domestic and family violence.

“We know that’s a huge need in the current community,” Dr McGirr said.

“That will make it much easier for them and their families to rebuild their lives, get back on their feet after what can be some pretty stressful circumstances.”

As part of the agreement, CEO Carolyn Doherty said Argyle Housing would be managing the social housing that currently exists in Tolland and that of the newly constructed dwellings.

“One of our focuses is about expanding our relationship with [already existing] services, building on the work that they do and create a bit of a social backbone team that will deliver renewal services to that community over a 10 year period,” she said.

Their aim being to provide increased access to education, employment, training and health services.

“Really use social housing as a mechanism to improve circumstances for people, break the cycles of poverty and violence,” Mrs Doherty said.

Mrs Doherty said NSW was seeing “record numbers” for social house wait times.

Wait times in Wagga are estimated to be between 2-5 years.

Asked if the March 2023 state election could affect support for the Tolland renewal project, Dr McGirr said politics should have no place in the matter.

“My understanding is that there’s a bipartisan agreement around the need to address housing, particularly in regional NSW,” he said.

“I’d be very disappointed if a change of government resulted in a change to this project and I frankly don’t expect that to happen.”

The project is expected to deliver a 16 per cent increase in social housing within the Tolland and Duke of Kent Oval precincts with community consultation expected for early next year.