More than 60 new homes for Hastings in latest Kāinga Ora project

An artist's impression of what the housing at 1034-1042 Sussex St in Mayfair could look like.

More than 60 new homes have been proposed across four sites in a Hastings suburb, as part of the latest Kāinga Ora housing project announced for Hawke’s Bay.

Hastings Boys’ High School students are getting on the tools and building three of the Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities (formerly Housing New Zealand) homes, which would add to the public housing stock.

The 67 proposed dwellings are in the suburb of Mayfair and are planned to be built at 1034-1042 Sussex St (16 homes), 1015-1023 Sussex St and 1012-1018 Grove Road (24 homes), 1205-1209 Beatty Place and 1017-1031 Hood St (24 homes), and 1109 Willowpark Road North (three homes).

Site works on all the developments are due to start in June.

An information session was being held on Wednesday afternoon for anyone wanting to find out more about the projects, at Karamu High School between 3.30pm and 6.30pm.

Proposed layout of the new public housing at 1034-1042 Sussex St in Mayfair.

One of the developments was featured in a Hawke’s Bay Today article last August, which saw a resident fight to stop two-storey public housing being built on all sides of his home on Grove Rd.

A Hastings District Council hearing approved the project and that homeowner has since sold his home to Kāinga Ora.

Kāinga Ora acting regional director for east North Island, Roxanne Cribb, said the projects would “ensure whānau don’t have to live in cars, motels or overcrowded houses”.

“We know there is a high demand in Hastings for larger family homes,” Cribb said.

“Many of these proposed homes are four and five bedrooms and most are two-storey.

“By building up, more people can enjoy living in this part of the city that connects easily to jobs, schools, services, shops and open spaces.

“Two-storey homes are working well in this area. Many people prefer not having grounds and gardens to look after, and enjoy shared communal and green spaces.”

The three homes on Willowpark Rd are being built at Hastings Boys’ High School as part of the Trade Academy Programme and will be moved onto the site.

“Students learn skills and gain experience by building homes for those who need them,” Cribb said.

Last week, Kāinga Ora announced it was building or buying another 51 new homes in Havelock North, Hastings and Taradale.

As at the start of this year, there were 707 applicants on the housing register in Napier and 669 applicants in the Hastings district.

That register is effectively the waitlist for people deemed as needing public housing, but for whom there is no public housing currently available.

One applicant represents an entire household.