Waihola excited by growth, community leaders say
IT is an exciting time for Waihola as the township grows and grows, community leaders say.
Clusters of new houses are springing up on the town’s northern borders, and new faces are being seen in the small lakeside settlement.
Lake Waihola Cafe and Bar Stu Michelle said residents were excited by the growth of the township.
He believed a lot of people moving to Waihola would be travelling to Dunedin and Balclutha for work.
There was a lot going for the township, he said.
‘‘Probably one of the biggest things is we are only about 15km from an international airport.’’
There were some small issues around infrastructure, he said.
For instance, as the population grew past 330, the Clutha District Council would need to ensure it kept up by providing increased rubbish services.
Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan said the new housing developments added buoyancy and confidence to the local economy.
About 1000 jobs were available across the Clutha district, which was a catalyst for the growth, which was in turn pushing up house prices.
‘‘Across the district, and it would have happened in Waihola as well, over the last year there has been a huge increase in the average house price — by about 24%,’’ Mr Cadogan said.
‘‘That certainly put the confidence in the market and enabled people to step up from selling a house to building a new home and that dynamic has not been seen before.’’
Growth would temporarily slow in Waihola because there was not enough water capacity for more houses, but a solution was already in place, he said.
‘‘We are putting a $3.2 million line through from Milton so that Waihola can get enough capacity in their water so the growth can continue.’’
The council was confident the water would be available in time so developments would not stop completely.
The Bruce ward of the Clutha district, which contains Waihola and Milton, is leading the charge in a housing boom in the district.
Across the whole district 241 houses were built in the past five years — 93 of them in the Bruce ward.
Balclutha had 50 new homes built in the same period.
New Waihola residents Peter and Lyn Smithies told the Clutha Leader lifestyle and price were the deciding factors when they were looking for a new home.
‘‘Mosgiel was so overpriced, so we looked at a section in Waihola and the price was right,’’ Mrs Smithies said.
The couple moved from Auckland to Waihola via Brisbane, and while it was a gamble, it was one they believed had paid off.
Mr Smithies said they were so happy there they had convinced several members of their family to come south and build homes next to them.
‘‘We are also building another new house right next door,’’ he said.
They said many of the houses in their subdivision were owned by former Auckland families.
‘‘It’s so close to Dunedin, and compared to Auckland there are no traffic problems and lovely weather,’’ Mrs Smithies said.