Jump-start for Maraenui housing

Seven centres around the country have secured Government funding for groundwork infrastructure like pipes and roads that will enable over 8,000 new homes to be built.

Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods says the Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund was set up to jump-start housing developments by funding the necessary services, like roads and pipes to homes.

“The only way we are going to solve the housing crisis is to build more houses. There is no silver bullet to solve the housing crisis but investments like this will make a difference.”

Megan Woods has congratulated the first council and iwi-led projects to secure funding through the IAF and said a further 28 are currently undergoing due diligence and negotiations. These are expected to be successfully concluded and announced over the coming months.

“We’ve seen enormous interest from regions wanting to build more housing for their communities, but who need funding support to make developments viable. We know a massive piece of the missing puzzle in the housing crisis we inherited is infrastructure; there simply hasn’t been enough investment in getting land build-ready.

“It’s great for the Government to come to the table as a partner to unlock much needed housing all over the country,” Megan Woods said.

Maraenui in Napier will receive $12.4m from the IAF for crucial flood management work, which will provide network capacity for an additional 400 new homes.

Napier City Council Chief Executive Dr Steph Rotarangi says the IAF funding will enable a significant step forward for housing in the city.

“Like many cities in New Zealand, we know that to secure a strong future we need to ensure we have sufficient safe, healthy homes for our growing population. Our community’s wellbeing will be enhanced by improving our housing stock and made possible with better infrastructure through this fund.”

As well as helping key stormwater works in Maraenui to be accelerated, other projects enabled by the IAF funding will include extensive stormwater management in Rotorua, a State Highway 2 intersection in Ōmokoroa, and a local link road and cycleway in Kaikōura. Upgrading water supply and roading in other projects will also deliver greater housing capacity.

The $179m of infrastructure funding allocated to these projects is expected to enable over 8,000 dwellings across New Zealand over the next 20 years, with over 5,000 of these expected within the next decade.