More public homes being built in region
More than 120 public houses are in the pipeline for Taranaki, but it has yet to be revealed where the majority will go.
The plans were ‘‘welcomed’’ by a trust that works to accommodate and care for those in need.
In the past four years, the number of people on the public housing register in the region has climbed from around 100 to more than 700. But in that same period, just nine public houses have been built.
Next month, construction will begin on a 45-unit complex, which is the biggest public housing development seen in Taranaki in three decades.
A further 80 homes are in the ‘‘planning feasibility and construction phase’’, said Graeme Broderick, Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities regional manager for Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatū.
However, Broderick would not reveal where they would be built.
‘‘As any opportunities progress we will be sure to update the community on this,’’ Broderick said.
‘‘Any other opportunities are too early to discuss, and are not confirmed.’’
Michelle Ramage, the general manager of emergency housing organisation Roderique Hope Trust, said she also had ‘‘no idea’’ where the new public houses are going.
However, she welcomed the fact they would be built.
‘‘The need is higher than it’s ever been,’’ Ramage said.
The trust works to temporarily accommodate whānau in need, with social work support, in one of its seven transitional homes in the New Plymouth and South Taranaki districts.
While the organisation works separately to Kāinga Ora, ‘‘we would welcome more public homes’’, she said.
‘‘We have a huge shortage of public housing – any new stock that’s brought in is only a good thing. We’ve got to build.’’
The latest figures from Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, show there were 764 people in Taranaki on the public housing register in February.
There were also 117 people on the transfer register.
This is a jump from four years ago, in March 2018, when there were 111 people on the housing register in Taranaki.
There are 1258 public homes and 28 transitional houses in the region, and early last year the Government said it would build around 200 more by 2024.
Five public homes on Wrantage St, New Plymouth, are nearing completion, with another 13 planned. And the three-storey complex being built by Soho Group Ltd, on the corner of Leach and Cameron streets, opposite Pak’nSave , is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.
The two-block complex will be made up of 23 two-bedroom units, and 22 one-bedroom units.
Last week, development manager Brad Davis said his company chose to develop in Taranaki after looking at statistics and identifying it as a region ‘‘where building is needed, where is it is being neglected’’.
Broderick, the Kāinga Ora regional manager for Taranaki, said the development in central New Plymouth was the biggest the region had seen in more than 30 years ‘‘due to previously low public housing need’’.
But, that had increased, he said. ‘‘Across Taranaki, Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities is delivering more homes at scale and pace to help meet the urgent need in our communities.’’