Tauranga housing accord signed

Housing Minister Nick Smith and Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby sign the housing accord tonight.

The Tauranga Housing Accord has been signed today by Tauranga City Council Mayor Stuart Crosby and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith to help address housing issues in the city.

Mayor Stuart Crosby said the implementation of the Tauranga Housing Accord was a way for council to facilitate more housing, including affordable housing, in Tauranga.

"Tauranga City Council has been proactively working towards addressing housing affordability and supply issues through SmartGrowth for a number of years.

"With the Accord in place this now provides council the ability to speed up the consenting process for areas where there is a clear demand for housing," added the Mayor.

The Accord is expected to be ratified at a Tauranga City Council meeting on Monday 18 August to take immediate effect.

The Council will then have the ability to recommend Special Housing Areas to the Government.