Kāinga Ora holding social housing drop-in session at library next week

A map showing Kāinga Ora’s building programme in Gisborne — green representing construction in progress; black, homes in the early planning stage. More details from this map are available on the Kāinga Ora website. Images supplied

Gisborne people can find out more about Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities’ plans to increase the amount of social housing available at a drop-in session at the HB Williams Memorial Library next week.

Kāinga Ora East North Island regional director Naomi Whitewood says the drop-in session on March 26 will provide people an opportunity to talk with staff about what the organisation is doing to help meet the growing demand for public homes in Gisborne.

“Over the next couple of years, we plan to add 270 new homes in Gisborne in addition to the 116 homes we’ve completed in the last two years.

“More than 190 homes are in progress. These are homes that are currently in procurement or construction, or we are contracted to buy them off a developer once they are completed.

“We have early plans for another 80 homes that would be built on our existing land that we need to make better use of.

“We may be planning to build because the land is vacant due to a house fire or a demolition.

“It may also be where we can replace our much older houses on large sections with more modern, warm and dry homes that better meet the needs of our customers today.

“Planning for these sites is still in progress and is subject to redesign or refinement.

“The number of homes we are building is driven by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s Public Housing Plan.

“This plan sets out the expectations for the delivery of new social housing, and in which regional cities these new homes will be built.

“I understand that people will have questions about what is happening in their neighbourhood and how new homes will support whānau to thrive in all aspects of life — from education and employment to physical and mental health.

“The drop-in session is a great chance for people to learn more about what is planned and to get any questions they may have answered.”

The drop-in session is in the Mahutonga Room at  the library between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

“For those who can’t attend the drop-in session, we have created an interactive map for Gisborne to ensure everyone has online access to the most up-to-date information about our build programme.”

This can be viewed at letstalk.kaingaora.govt.nz/Gisborne