Home owner feels pressured
A homeowner in Epuni who received a letter from Housing New Zealand offering to purchase his house, feels pressured to sell.
HNZ held a meeting on Saturday to gather community feedback on building 200 houses on 1.88 hectares of vacant land in Lower Hutt.
The homeowner, who did not want to be identified, said he bought the former HNZ property seven years ago for $197,000.
He had been told preliminary HNZ plans included multi-storey complexes, which he believed would be unsuitable for the area.
‘‘It would be like it was before [HNZ pulled down all the houses on the now vacant land] and I would fear for my own personal circumstances.’’
When the land was fully housed, there were ongoing problems and he would not want to live in a similar area again.
‘‘It was an unpleasant environment. I would not say it was unsafe, but it was unpleasant.’’
The area would become a building site and he was worried about the loss of sun and privacy living next to multi-story buildings.
Having invested a lot of time and money in what he called his ‘‘dream property,’’ he was worried he would not get it back.
The current rateable value was $285,000 but real estate agents told him he would receive a lot more than that.
‘‘I have spent money with reckless disregard, because I never intended to sell. I think I might get somewhere between $350,000 and $380,000.’’
Area Manager Stephen Wilson said five private home owners had been contacted to discuss the possibility of selling their properties to HNZ.
Sale would be by negotiation and owners could not be forced to sell, he said. He acknowledged a working group looking at the vacant land had seen a possible design but could not supply a copy at this stage because of confidentially issues.
‘‘An early draft site plan set- ting out a potential redevelopment option for Epuni was shared with a stakeholder working group under an obligation of confidence. I am unable to provide you with a copy at this stage.’’
HNZ’s plans for the site ‘‘are subject to change and final decisions have not yet been made on the location and mix of housing types.’’ Two separate fires on the closed Petone Wharf are suspected to have been caused by fireworks.
Fire shift commander Belinda Beets said the first fire happened shortly after midday Sunday at the end of the wharf, and was able to be extinguished using a forestry pack – a portable pack used on small fires.
‘‘They can’t get the trucks down there, so they have to carry gear in,‘‘ Beets said.
The second fire was reported at 9.28pm. Firefighters spent more than two hours battling the blaze beneath the wharf, with the help of the police launch Lady Elizabeth III.
Firefighters used a portable pump and hoses to spray the wharf with seawater, and reported the blaze extinguished just before midnight.
Beets said residents should avoid letting off fireworks on the wharf.
‘‘It’s an iconic piece of history, the old wharf, so we should respect it – she’s an old girl.’’
The Hutt City Council would be inspecting the wharf on Monday to check the extent of the damage, Beets said.
A spokesman from the Lady Elizabeth III said the fire was smouldering when they arrived.
The wharf has been closed to the public since it was damaged in the November 2016 earthquake.