Council backs installing lift at senior housing complex

A two-storey housing complex for seniors in Marlborough is set to get a lift, after plans to build stairs were called out by a councillor.

Marlborough District councillor Jenny Andrews last month said she had ‘‘serious concerns’’ about plans to construct a dozen one-bedroom units on George St, six of which were upstairs, without a lift.

But her colleagues warned against stereotyping seniors. Councillor Mark Peters, 72, said he would quite happily ‘‘run up and down stairs’’. But Peters admitted at a full council meeting yesterday that he had made a ‘‘silly, throwaway comment’’.

Peters said a team at the council had since ‘‘crunched the numbers’’ and found that, due to economies of scale, it was more viable to include the lift.

‘‘We can actually put a lift in. If we expand the project over a period of time, and allow for the lift to service an expanded number of units, which is actually part of the longer-term plan of the committee, then it works.’’

Peters put forward in the full council meeting that installing a lift was the preference. This was to be referred back to the housing committee.

The council is looking to build more two-storey flats to help seniors in Blenheim’s congested housing market, starting with the George St property next door. It wants the first right of purchase for the property, which it is discussing with the current owner.

Peters said last month the hope was to ‘‘mirror’’ the 12 units already in the pipeline, bringing the total to 24.

Andrews said yesterday she was proud of the council for having compassion and reason in agreeing to install a lift. The average age of a person in senior housing was 73, and the council had 82 tenants in senior housing who had been there for between five and seven years, she said.

‘‘The majority [of tenants] are content to stay as long as they are able.

‘‘Having stairs instead of an elevator makes no sense and will cause us to retrofit the complex,’’ Andrews said.

‘‘We need to think ahead and not waste money going for the cheapest option. And we have thought ahead and I’m very proud that we have.

‘‘We need to make this lift part of an exciting build. Let us not be the midwinter Grinch, and show our community that we’ve thought about this with common sense, and we’re prepared to see both compassion and reason.’’

The council first agreed to fund the $3.7 million project at its Long Term Plan budget meeting in February.

Construction of the housing is expected to take about 14 months.

The council first approached not-forprofit housing providers Abbeyfield and the Salvation Army, as well as central government, to see if they were interested in developing the property but found no pursuable options.

The council instead decided to develop the site itself, with a design plan drawn up last year. The floor plans were similar to those of some of the council’s existing flats, based on tenant feedback about what had worked well.

A report presented to councillors said the units would have heat pumps but not air conditioning, and come with mobility scooter storage stations so tenants could keep scooters charged safely and out of the elements.