Holiday park homelessness fears
About 300 people living at a Queenstown holiday park face homelessness in six months when their cabins are removed to make way for a housing development.
Maria Aparecida Da Silva’s ‘‘home’’ – a tiny cabin at Lakeview Holiday Park – is sandwiched between a row of cabins that will be removed to make way for a new development offering homes for more than 1500 people.
The 51-year-old Brazilian is one of about
300 residents living permanently at the site who have been told they will have to find new accommodation by late October, unless they qualify for a needsbased exemption.
She said: ‘‘I’ve lived at the holiday park for nine years and been in Queenstown for 11 years. I am very, very worried. I don’t know where I am going to live. Finding a house in Queenstown is very difficult.’’ Like many living at the site, which is owned by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, Da Silva works in hospitality. She is a breakfast chef for a high-end hotel.
An elderly couple from the Philippines, who live in another cluster of cabins, also work at local hotels. Teadono Sta Ana and Rizalina de Jesus have lived at the park for five years and are making tentative plans to relocate to Auckland.
‘‘Houses are very expensive and this is so close to our jobs ... We are very sad but we have no choice. Many people here are worried,’’ de Jesus said.
Queenstown Chamber of Commerce chief executive Anna Mickell said most of the tenants were permanent residents and worked in the community.
‘‘We want to make sure that we keep as many of these residents living and working locally.’’
The district council has proposed a workshop in July to help those affected find new accommodation, she said.
Council chief executive Mike Theelan said the decision to close the park was ‘‘a tough one’’, but the new development would provide homes for five times as many people. ‘‘The end result will offer significantly more for the community than it does today.’’