Government buys land at Raumati for housing

The Government has bought more than four hectares of vacant land at Kāpiti Coast’s Raumati Beach to build about 100 new public houses for the area.

It has spent $10 million to buy the 4.6-hectare vacant plot of land on Raumati Rd. Plans for the number and type of homes are still being developed, but the Government is hoping to address the historically low levels of public housing in Kāpiti.

‘‘This purchase will ultimately mean more families have a place to call home and demonstrates our commitment to resolving the housing challenges facing the Kāpiti Coast district,’’ said Housing Minister Megan Woods. ‘‘It is clear that we need to take further steps to address housing in the region, and by tackling it now, we can prevent problems that will potentially compound and worsen in the coming years.’’

The Kāpiti Coast District has had a problem with unaffordable housing for a long time. A housing stocktake by the district council earlier this year showed housing prices were skyrocketing and people were sacrificing necessities for rent.

It also found out there was not enough public housing available for a growing waitlist – demand doubled each year from 2016 to 2020. As of June, 195 families were on the list waiting for a public home, but the number could be unrepresentative of demand as many did not put themselves on the register.

Māori households were twice as likely to be living in social housing in the district.

The Government’s purchase follows Kāinga Ora opening pub

‘‘This purchase will ultimately mean more families have a place to call home.’’ Megan Woods Housing Minister

lic housing for the first time in two years in October by completing two new houses in Paraparaumu’s Kaitawa Cres. A further two houses were expected to be open at nearby Hinemoa St by the end of the year.

‘‘Kāinga Ora will continue to work closely with Kāpiti District Council, local iwi and local residents on how best to make sure these homes support the local community and new residents,’’ Woods said.

Kāpiti Coast mayor Janet Holborow said she welcomed any Government initiative that would help the district fix its housing issues.

‘‘The need for a range of social housing solutions, particularly in the wake of Covid-19, far outpaces current supply locally,’’ she said.

‘‘We know that housing stress in Kāpiti is widespread and negatively impacting a range of wellbeing factors like education, community connectedness and employment.’’

The district council’s Housing Strategy, which was approved in May, also said it would review existing council land to see if more social housing could be built and would actively work with housing providers and iwi to explore development opportunities.