Sisters to care for the elderly

Horowhenua pensioners living in units sold off by the council will now have a nurse and sisters caring for them.

In October, the Horowhenua District Council finalised the sale of its 115 pensioner housing units in Levin, Shannon and Foxton.

The units were sold to Compassion Housing and Willis and Bond for $5.5 million – well below the rateable value of $9.2m.

Despite the council receiving a petition against the sale, and concerns from the community that prices would increase and quality of care and housing would decline, the settlement will go ahead in November.

At a council meeting on Wednesday, Compassion Housing director Francis Fanning said pensioners living in the units would remain the primary focus.

A nurse and two sisters would care for tenants in the Horowhenua units, Fanning said.

A nurse and a maintenance contractor would be employed and Sisters of Compassion had bought a property on Queen St, in Levin, where two sisters would live and keep an eye on the welfare of the residents, Fanning said.

Compassion Housing was established in 2000 to manage pensioner housing units in Upper Hutt on behalf of the Sisters of Compassion.

People had similar concerns when the organisation purchased 92 units from the Upper Hutt City Council, Fanning said.

Tenants were fearful the units would be sold to a private developer, but this did not happen.

The units were badly neglected when Compassion Housing took over, but the organisation refurbished about six a year, he said.

While the Upper Hutt units are solely owned by Sisters of Compassion, the Horowhenua units are half-owned by development company Willis and Bond.