Fifty-three new homes for Porirua

Porirua will get 53 new state homes, built on Housing New Zealand land that has stood empty for nearly a decade.

Mayor Mike Tana said it was ‘‘fantastic day’’ for the city, and he hoped this was just the beginning of new homes being built for residents.

The houses – mainly one and two-bedroom dwellings – would be built on a hectare of land in Cannons Creek in the city’s east, he said. ‘‘This goes some way to starting the change in housing for our people.’’

The houses would probably be built in 2019 and 2020, after a consenting and community consultation process was completed, he said.

‘‘With nothing happening in the past eight years, I fully support this and anything else Housing NZ want to build for our community, who have been ignored for too long.’’

The Castor Crescent land has been empty since 27 ageing and earthquake-prone units were demolished in 2007 and 2008. More were pulled down in nearby Hazard Grove and Esk Place in 2015.

In 2012, private and social housing providers were given the opportunity to tender for the land, which had resource consent for 15 homes – none were received.

Last year, about 100 community members spent a night sleeping at that site to highlight the need for more housing.

Then Labour leader Andrew Little visited the site last April and pledged that the party would build affordable state homes if it was elected to government.

In August, a Housing New Zealand spokesman said it was working on development plans for the site, which had the potential for about 30 new homes.

‘‘It’s likely many of these will be one-bedroom homes, as nearly half of Porirua’s current social housing demand is from individuals or couples with no children.’’

While in Opposition, Mana MP Kris Faafoi often spoke about the need for housing to be built on the bare land. Yesterday, he said he was ‘‘over the moon’’ to hear about the new build, and the empty land had been a blight on the community surrounding it.

‘‘As I said last year, the previous Government sat on their arses for seven years, and it just goes to show what can be done with a change of government.’’

Last week, Housing Minister Phil Twyford announced up to 155 new state houses would be built in the regions by the middle of the year.

Yesterday, he said the release of new regional fact sheets showed the housing crisis was a challenge for the regions, not just Auckland.

According to Housing New Zealand’s latest figures, there are 2367 state houses in Porirua City.

The agency last night said there was increasing demand for homes in the area. ‘‘This is part of our wider build programme to deliver more state housing across the region, which includes up to 145 extra homes in Wellington and more state houses nationally.

‘‘We’re still in the planning stage for these proposed homes in Porirua. When we have more information on the development, we will update the community.’’

‘‘It just goes to show what can be done with a change of government.’’ Mana MP Kris Faafoi