MP calls for new access to Wainui

National list MP Chris Bishop is seeking support for a second access road to the Wellington suburb of Wainuiomata, saying it would help unlock land for muchneeded housing developments.

Bishop said the second road, which had been discussed for years and would run from northern Wainuiomata to Naenae, would unlock land that could be used for thousands of new houses, and provide an alternative route in and out of the suburb. ‘‘The main driver for it is we have got to get building housing,’’ Bishop said.

Bishop’s petition, which he plans to present to Hutt City Council during submissions on its proposed Long Term Plan in May, comes amid a worsening housing crisis in Lower Hutt and predictions of increasing traffic flows into the city.

However, Hutt city councillor Deborah Hislop, who chairs the council’s infrastructure and regulatory committee, said the Long Term Plan was already out for public feedback, so it was too late for the proposal to be included.

She said the council was ‘‘open to having a conversation with central Government’’ about a second road but any decision would need to be made through the draft Wellington region growth framework. ‘‘We do need to increase the resilience for Wainuiomata,’’ Hislop said.

‘‘It is a very fast-growing area of our city and there is only one road in and one road out.’’

Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen said the proposal warranted further investigation but she was keen to see updated costs for the project.

The second road has been discussed for many years, with the council facing a backlash from residents when it proposed a new road and subdivision under a proposed urban growth strategy in 2013.

The northern Wainuiomata residents were worried they would lose parts of their land under the proposal.

At the time, the road was expected to cost $36 million.