Plan for hundreds of homes
‘‘While Housing NZ has 3800 social houses in the Hutt Valley, many are the wrong size.’’
WHAT WILL BE BUILT
30 homes on four vacant sites in Naenae, Taita andWaterloo: Seddon St, Naenae: 20 x 1-bedroom, completed mid 2018; 1 x 5-bedroom, late 2018; 1 x 6-bedroom, late 2018 Buller Gr, Naenae: 2 x 4-bedroom, early-to-mid 2018; 2 x 2-bedroom, early-to-mid 2018 Molesworth St, Taita: 2 x 4-bedroom, early 2018 Galway St, Waterloo: 2 x 4-bedroom, early 2018 Up to 300 homes across four Lower Hutt sites Master planning has commenced for amix of social, affordable and market housing: 200 homes in Durham Cres, Cambridge Tce and Hampton Court, Epuni; 40 homes in Oxford Tce, Epuni; 40 homes in Naenae Rd, Naenae; 20 homes White Lines East, Waiwhetu The Government plans to build and refurbish more than 700 houses in the Hutt Valley over the next five years.
The announcement, which was to be made on Tuesday by Housing New Zealand Minister Amy Adams, follows protests earlier this year about the amount of vacant Housing NZ land in Lower Hutt, and the length of time it had been left.
Up to 330 new social, affordable and market homes will be built in the Lower Hutt suburbs of Naenae, Taita, and Waterloo, at a cost of about $9.5 million.
An investment of about $67.3m will go into refurbishing 383 homes in the Hutt Valley to make them warm and dry, and bring them up to standard.
Most of the land is in the hotly contested Hutt South electorate, where a fierce battle is being waged between National list MP Chris Bishop and Labour’s Ginny Andersen for the seat being vacated by Trevor Mallard.
Bishop hailed the announcement as ‘‘outstanding news for the region’’, while Andersen said the Government had bowed to community pressure and should have acted ‘‘five years ago, not three months out from an election’’.
Adams said the work would begin immediately at the four initial sites in Epuni, Naenae and Waiwhetu. The first new homes would be completed by mid-2018.
‘‘While Housing NZ has 3800 social houses in the Hutt Valley, many are the wrong size and some are in need of refurbishment, so our plan is build more houses and bring hundreds of others up to modern standards,’’ she said.
Bishop said: ‘‘We understand there has been community concern about the vacant lands, but the reality is Housing NZ has been working on this for a while, and I have been trying to give them the hurry-up.
‘‘But we now see comprehensive plans for those sites … and with a number of one-bedroom houses planned, it will aim to right-size the portfolio to meet the growing demand for those types of homes.’’
Anderson said National had ‘‘bowed to the pressure piled on them by the Labour Party and other local campaigners’’.
‘‘It’s good to see they are finally taking the community’s need seriously, but it doesn’t seem like a genuine response to the need. If it was, it would have been done five years ago, not three months out from an election.’’
In April, the Rev Martin Robinson led campaigners in camping out on an empty HNZ section in Naenae, and urging the agency to build affordable housing there. HNZ responded that it had comprehensive plans but did not provide any details.
Also in April, Labour announced its plan to build a mix of 400 state houses and affordable KiwiBuild homes in the Hutt Valley in its first term in government.
Mayor Ray Wallace welcomed Tuesday’s announcement.