Consortium to develop housing area

From left, Victoria Kingi, deputy chairwoman of Nga Potiki Trust, and Colin Reeder, chairman of Nga Potiki Trust, pictured at the site of a Nga Potiki/Pirihima Trust Papakainga development near Tauranga in May. Photo / File

About 49ha of land in Tauranga and Te Puke is expected to be developed for new affordable housing and rental options as part of the Social Housing Reform in Tauranga.

The Tauranga Moana Te Puke Housing Consortium has land supply available in Tauranga and Te Puke which is intended to be developed for affordable housing for local families.

About 40ha of land near Te Puke and another 30 per cent of a 162ha block in Papamoa has been set aside to develop the scheme under the local iwi consortium.

The iwi consortium consists of three treaty settlement tribes who will participate in the social housing reform programme for Tauranga that could see about 1200 Housing New Zealand properties transferred to an approved community housing provider.

Victoria Kingi, Tauranga Moana Te Puke Housing Consortium spokeswoman, said the objective was to put families who were living in rough conditions into healthy homes.

"There are a number of strategies we have employed to achieve that. One strategy is we have been developing housing on Maori Land, which is quite a specific strategy, and the other is to develop housing on land that comes back through treaty settlements and that is general land.

"We each bring unique value [which] adds opportunities through our treaty settlements that we are willing to share with the wider sub region," she said.

Pia Callaghan, of Tapuika Iwi Authority, said iwi were willing to look at residential housing options on land near Te Puke to be returned under treaty settlements.

"Tapuika has approximately 40ha of post treaty settlement land available for housing, we can see the hardship families are operating under and we want to make a positive difference through quality affordable housing."

"One strategy is we have been developing housing on Maori Land, which is quite a specific strategy"
Victoria King

Colin Reeder, chairman of Nga Potiki a Tamapahore Trust, said it was "a key strategy to attain better outcomes in housing, health, education and employment across the community".