Kāinga Ora has plans for 11 new homes in Richmond to house some of the 141 applicants on the public housing register in Tasman.
Six two-bedroom homes are planned on Oxford St and will be a mix of single and two-storied dwellings, while five single-storey, two-bedroom homes are planned on Herbert St.
Community drop-in sessions were held at the Richmond Library this week and acting regional director Gabrielle Thorpe says the purpose of the sessions was to share completed and planned developments.
“We are always looking for opportunities to increase the number of homes available for people in need in Nelson and Tasman. We are looking to increase the number of homes available in a number of ways, including removing our older homes and replacing them with a greater number of new homes as part of our redevelopment programme; purchasing completed homes from developers and buying land and working with build partners or developers to build new homes.”
She points out that Kāinga Ora is just one of several housing providers, including community housing providers in Tasman. While the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) manages the public housing register, Kāinga Ora and community housing providers place people from the register based on need and eligibility.
She says Tasman has challenges with planning constraints and relatively high construction costs compared with developments in larger towns or cities. Plus, there are coastal inundation risks, flood risk and the subsequent council requirements for high finished floor levels relative to existing ground levels, she says.
For those people waiting on the Public Housing Register, MSD’s regional commissioner Craig Churchill says it finds them somewhere to stay while they wait for a home to become available.
It can offer financial support to help people stay with family or friends, help with rent or help pay bond, explore other affordable accommodation options or help them into transitional housing. As a last resort, he says they may have to stay in emergency housing.
