Feasibility of redeveloping public houses in Ruakākā looked into

Tenants are sometime this winter expected to move into these newly-constructed state houses on Puriri Park Rd in Whangārei. Photo / Tania Whyte

Kāinga Ora is looking at the feasibility of redeveloping state houses in Ruakākā as part of constructing more warm, dry and modern homes in light of a growing waiting list for public housing.

The government agency manages 27 properties that house about 95 people on Peter Snell Rd, Tamingi St and Tiki Pl in Ruakākā and held a hui recently to update tenants about its future plans.

Kāinga Ora Te Taitokerau acting regional director Taina Jones said as the people most directly impacted by any redevelopment, her staff always spoke to their customers first and would seek input from them as well as from mana whanua.

She said it was important to note that no decision has yet been made to redevelop those houses.

"If redevelopment is confirmed at a later date, we will support our customers through the rehousing process and make sure they are moved to a home suitable to their needs.

"If customers want to stay in Ruakākā, we have a policy that we will either rehouse them there or move them temporarily to another home before offering them the opportunity to return to the community when redevelopment is complete.

"There are currently more than 700 applicants on the waiting list for public housing in the Whangārei District, so it makes sense for Kāinga Ora to look at all our homes to identify areas where we can make better use of land and make more warm, dry, modern homes available," Jones said.

At this stage, she said Kāinga Ora was looking at the feasibility of a redevelopment and what sort of home configuration was possible.

Whangārei MP Emily Henderson was also at the hui and said she made no apologies for pushing Kāinga Ora to get more and better quality housing.

"The state houses in Ruakākā are largely old, some have reached their use-by date but land is available so there are a lot of medium and long-term challenges to be met in terms of housing supply," she said.

Bream Bay ward Councillor Ken Couper said while the tenants in Kāinga Ora's Ruakākā houses may feel concerned about the proposed redevelopment, the whole community needed to work together to find solutions.

"There's a need to look at the housing strategy district-wide and Kāinga Ora is part of the solution. We need more affordable and transitional houses, and with more than 700 people on the housing waiting register in Whangārei, we can't not do anything," he said.

Kāinga Ora has spent $9.8 million buying 13 standalone properties in Whangārei over the last two years as part of plans to deliver more than 150 warm, dry state homes in Northland over the next couple of years.

The plans include construction of state houses on Puriri Park Rd in Whangārei, which should be ready for occupancy sometime this winter.