Retrofit homes ‘great to see’

Seven new state houses will be built in the Timaru District in the next year, and 86 more will be retrofitted.

In an announcement by Housing Minister Megan Woods, during her visit to the district yesterday, she said 32 retrofits had been completed across the district in the past year.

Woods visited one of those retrofitted homes and said the Government’s push to upgrade its older public housing stock meant more people were able to live in warmer, drier, healthier homes and stay in their community.

‘‘It was great to see the Government’s retrofit programme in action in Timaru, and the good work being done by the local Kāinga Ora team to resolve South Canterbury’s housing challenges,’’ Woods said.

‘‘Retrofitting properties is part of the Government’s wider programme of work to improve our older homes, many of which still have good bones, with up to 50 more years of life left in them once they’ve been upgraded.’’

She said retrofitting was often more sustainable than demolishing and building new ‘‘when there is no significant benefit to redevelopment’’.

The Marston Rd home she visited was built in 1939 and work included insulation, double glazing and a refit of the kitchen and bathroom, as well as redecoration of the interior, with space opened up in the kitchen and living areas, and toilet and bathroom.

‘‘We can and we should build more homes, and that’s exactly what we’re doing – 10,600 additional homes and counting,’’ Woods said.

‘‘But if we reuse our existing homes, we can spend our money more wisely and protect the embodied carbon within them and the social value of our older buildings.’’