What’s going on in Kaitangata?
Kaitangata. It’s a small spot near the coast of South Otago, tucked between some hills and the banks of the Clutha River.
Population: Roughly 800. A pub. A takeaway shop. A motorcamp. A coal mine. A few other amenities.
In 2016 a plan was hatched to revitalise the small town: the Kaitangata District Promotions house and land package.
It was bold and unique and so ambitious that it attracted international media attention – when some began wrongly claiming that the local council would pay people $160,000 to move there.
That wasn’t the case, of course. But to be fair, the real house and land package still sounded too good to be true. Starting at $230,000, you could get a three-bedroom house and some land.
Clutha Development chief executive Linda Moore said the economic promotion group was at one point getting up to 200 emails a day from people who wanted to move to Kaitangata. There was a time when Clutha District mayor Bryan Cadogan had 40,000 messages in his inbox.
There were 12 packages up for grabs and they were all snaffled up – some by locals, some by buyers from Auckland or Taranaki. But Clutha Development is still receiving up to 20 emails a week, many from overseas buyers.
In June last year, it was hoped the houses would be built and the families would be moving in within 12 months. At one point, there were plans to find more sections and build more homes under the scheme.
But it’s late May and building work hasn’t started yet – although builders did install toilets for the workers on the first sites this week, in preparation for things to get under way.
The man behind the plan, Kaitangata dairy farmer Evan Dick, said things hadn’t progressed as quickly as hoped. There have been hold-ups around obtaining mortgages and building consent, and a shortage of available builders.
Regardless, Dick and other residents say there’s already ‘‘buzz’’ in the small town. ‘‘It’s been amazing . . . but turning it into reality is a different thing than having an idea.’’
Dick has put his own cash into the cause, as well as his time. ‘‘When [the story] went viral, people said ‘put your money where your mouth is’, and I thought f... yeah, I will.’’
He bought a block of land and developed three sections for the project. ‘‘I sold them at exactly what it cost me. I just showed people this is what you can do.’’
He says the homes, when built to the original spec, came in for under $240,000. ‘‘I just did it to show people we could do it for what I said we could.’’
What’s the hold-up?
‘‘It’s a lot of frustration with bloody everyone getting themselves organised,’’ says Dick. ‘‘The biggest problem is . . . it’s hard to come to Kai[tangata], buy a section, especially if you’re a younger couple. The banks – they don’t want to see any unknowns.’’
Booked-up builders had also been a problem. Cadogan said construction had been delayed because builders in the district were so busy.
‘‘If you came to Clutha now and said ‘I want to built a house’, you’d probably have to wait until the end of 2020, which is a phenomenon we’ve never heard of.’’
Are the owners happy?
Dave Ferguson got involved because he wanted to move back to the town where he grew up. He was one of the first three to buy one of the packages.
Ferguson said he was at least a month away from starting the build on his home thanks to small town delays.
‘‘I didn’t realise it was going to take so long to get prices and that. I’m used to being up in Christchurch where everything happens pretty quick,’’ he said. ‘‘Down here it’s exactly the opposite. The average quote down here was taking me three weeks. Some longer.’’
Ferguson is still looking on the bright side. He was keen to get into the house and hoped that would be by October, or Christmas at the latest.
‘Redefined’
Cadogan said the town had been ‘‘redefined’’ by the resettling initiative, despite the delays.
‘‘It’s driven them . . . pride has gone into the town. There’s been a redefining that the town is for the young people where you can raise a family, where you can get a chance,’’ he said.
‘‘Kaitangata, it’s got a beautiful view out over the delta. It was always a lovely position for a town. But I think the awareness of what they really had came to light through [recent projects].’’
A recently completed skate park and bike jump park helped make it a place for kids, teenagers and young people, he said.
Kaitangata received $100,000 in 2017 to go towards the development of a new community hub.
Amanda Tiedemann has just opened a preschool in Kaitangata. She and her husband bought a property a few years ago and holidayed tin the area, but moved permanently from Whangarei in September 2017.
‘‘It’s humming. People are looking forward to it [the house and land project], going forward.
‘‘I don’t have the comparison of what it was before . . . but There’s definitely a positive attitude and I guess a bit of a buzz that things are moving forward for Kaitangata.’’
Dick is – after all his years of effort – still enthusiastic.
‘‘I’ve taken a bit of flak here and there but I know what’s happening and it’s going to happen.
‘‘There’s a lot happening in our wee town and we can be proud of it.
‘‘Our town’s been stagnant for so many years. But I think once we turn a corner, it’s going to do its thing.’’