From the President’s Desk

Let us start with the social housing need in Marlborough. The Public Housing Register, compiled by the Ministry of Social Development, shows 22,409 people nationwide registered last November as requiring a social house. The number for Marlborough is 262. Social housing includes emergency, transitional and long term rentals.

Since 2019, Housing NZ (Ka¯inga Ora) has been building two and three-bedroom houses around Brewer St and Girling Ave, and renovating existing Blenheim houses to the new standards for safety and comfort.

Its programme for Marlborough, from now through to 2024, is 136 new house builds. In addition, Marlborough District Council is building 12 new houses for seniors, while local private developers are also building affordable houses.

The just-released Government Public Housing Plan gives its expected social housing new build numbers throughout the country.

It also speaks of partnerships between government agencies and local councils, iwi and community housing providers.

There will be more information under this plan in the May Budget. It is hoped more finance is included and available to Housing NZ to increase nationwide newbuild numbers.

This increase will require land purchases and the provision of underground infrastructure and roads. So the possible partnership of government and councils, especially in sharing costs for new infrastructure, would be welcome.

In Blenheim there could be more multi-storied infilling on vacant land by private developers. This would also reinvigorate the CBD area of the town.

Suitable land for social housing would be the north side of the eastern end of Alabama Rd, or adjacent to Wairau Hospital.

In 2016, Grey Power Marlborough asked council to establish a housing group comprising those community organisations that represent both people with housing needs and those who can provide new social housing here.

One such provider is Abbeyfield NZ, which offers housing to older people who want to retain some independence. Committee