Terrace End site could relieve housing needs
Housing could spring up on the unused Terrace End bowling club land in Palmerston North’s Summerhays St.
The club has surrendered its lease on the land to move in with the Northern bowling club in North St, and the council-owned site is currently unoccupied.
City councillors have decided they would like to see the 7663-square-metre site used for housing, to help relieve the city’s housing crisis.
Half of the land was zoned for recreation use, so the public would get to have a say on its future as part of the process to rezone it for residential use.
Mayor Grant Smith said the one thing the housing market was crying out for was the release of land for building. ‘‘That’s what they are looking at for us to do as a council.’’
The demand for land was illustrated by strong interest in the council’s subdivision at Tamakuku Terrace in Whakarongo, with 630 registrations of interest in purchasing one of the 114 sections.
The shortage of land and housing was driving the fastest growth in home prices in the city in 50 years.
Quotable Value noted in its February market report that prices were going up by nearly $1000 every day, with the latest median house price recorded at more than $660,000.
Cr Susan Baty said the bowling club site was on a great location for housing.
Council staff had considered using it for a reserve, but it was not ideal with just two narrow links to the street, and it was otherwise tucked away with poor visibility from the public.
Baty said she would like to see the council lead the project and create more than the 20-odd sections that would be likely to result from a traditional, medium-density subdivision.
Cr Brent Barrett said he would like to see the land retained as public property providing the greatest possible social value, rather than being sold for financial returns.
The council has included a $7 million budget to spend on social housing in its draft 10-year plan, but that was not necessarily tagged to Summerhays St.
It could be another nine to 18 months before the site could be cleared for residential use. That was how long-acting general manager for strategy and planning David Murphy estimated the rezoning process could take.
Staff had been asked to bring councillors a public consultation document outlining their preference to use the land for housing.
That was likely to be presented in May, and would be the first step towards lifting the recreation zone constraints on the property.