Hundreds of new homes for Kapiti
A Kapiti beach community is set to explode in size thanks to an 850-lot subdivision that will increase its housing stock by more than half.
The Ngarara subdivision at Waikanae Beach will eventually boast apartments, houses, shops and possibly a school.
The development, nestled only metres from the Kapiti Expressway interchange, is expected to take more than 25 years to complete, but its first stage is consented and under way, with 55 houses ready to be built.
The beach area, which is about five kilometres west of Waikanae township, has remained largely unchanged for decades, with just four cafes, no medical facilities, and a Four Square.
But Kapiti’s mayor believed the development was only the first of many the region was likely to see as a jam-packed Wellington looked for more space.
‘‘The whole district is starting to warp as the expressway changes the area,’’ K Gurunathan said.
Clusters of houses and services springing up at expressway offramps were a possible danger, but the council would look to buy surplus land from NZ Transport Agency to control the growth.
Ngarara’s smaller homes would be perfect for Kapiti, where thousands of older, single women lived in large houses, he said.
‘‘By them moving into the oneand two-bedroom homes, it’s a way of solving the housing crisis.’’
Project manager Craig Martell said Ngarara’s properties would be priced from $400,000, and a range of sizes should appeal to everybody from first-home buyers to retirees.
‘‘We haven’t got a school planned in the first stage, due to a lack of interest from the Ministry [of Education]. This does not mean we would not welcome this opportunity, as we had always wanted a school within our development.’’
He said the development would open the Kawakahia Wetland and a network of trails and parks to the wider community, as well as offering affordable housing to buyers.
Professional’s real estate salesman Morgan Philips said homes could be offered for sale in the next two weeks, and keys would be handed to new owners before Christmas.
The development, spearheaded by landowner Jonathan Smith, has been on the boil for years. It was first planned as a 1700-home ecovillage and given the green light in 2011. It was planned around the proposed Western Link Road through Kapiti, which was axed in favour of the expressway, causing the developers to go back to the drawing board.
News that it was progressing renewed calls for another Waikanae school to be built, as the two existing schools come under pressure from growing rolls.
Kapanui School associate principal John Brunton, whose school will be the closest to Ngarara, was concerned an influx of pupils would stretch his already-full roll.
‘‘A development of that size would impact on us hugely, and I imagine they would have to be looking at another school. A place that size almost needs a school in itself.
‘‘The ministry has already bought the land for another school, so it’s time they made good on their plan,’’ Brunton said.
Ministry deputy secretary Katrina Casey said a 2016 report projected a growth of about 140 students in the area over the next few years. A three-hectare site bought in 2010 ‘‘could be used if population growth statistics indicate the need for a new school’’.
Kapiti Coast District Council planning manager Sarah Stevenson said it had asked the ministry for a solution to the pressure on Waikanae’s primary schools.
Other infrastructure costs would be met by the developers, she said.
Artel Gallery owner Maude Heath welcomed the new development, but wanted to see more support for existing retailers.
Some businesses had suffered because of the expressway, which bypassed the town centre. She did not want future shoppers to go only to businesses at the expressway interchange. ‘‘The comments we’re getting is that customers can’t find the CBD.‘‘
Waikanae Community Board member Tonchi Begovich had ‘‘no immediate concerns’’ about retail spaces at Ngarara affecting the existing town centre.
The subdivision would be a ‘‘fantastic contribution to the area’’ and its ecologically friendly design meant its impact on town infrastructure would be ‘‘less than a mainstream development’’.