Hapu to invest $2m in housing

A $2.06 million housing project at Kaiwaka is part of a plan to advance Te Uri o Hau people with developments which include buying a farm at Taipuha and the possible purchase of a Whangarei hotel.
Sir Graham Latimer, chairman of the Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust's commercial arm, the Renaissance Group, said the hapu of Ngatiwhatua was "on the move".
"The housing project is part of our forward planning to provide good housing, education, health services and employment for our people," he said. "We've already bought a farm at Taipuha and we're looking at a hotel."
Sir Graham said the Whangarei hotel would be a good investment and would provide employment opportunities for young people.
Housing New Zealand has approved a $2.06 million loan for the Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust to build eight homes at Kaiwaka.
Five homes with two or three bedrooms will be leased by Housing NZ to use as low-cost housing for elders and families and the remaining three four-bedroom homes will be sold to eligible Te Uri o Hau people at cost - about $146,000 each.
Construction is expected to start soon and the houses will take about 18 months to complete.
The long-term aim of the settlement trust is to build 30 houses. Hapu beneficiaries recently approved the formation of a new subsidiary to manage their housing portfolio, TUOH Developments Ltd.
The trust in conjunction with Housing NZ has identified 20 prospective applicants on Housing NZ waiting list who could be eligible to occupy the new homes.
The trust has spent about $150,000 completing survey work for the housing project and working through the consents process with the Kaipara District Council.
Kaiwaka was identified by both Te Uri o Hau and government agencies as one of the best locations to develop housing as there is an acute shortage of accommodation in the town, available housing is expensive, there is excellent accessibility to State Highway One and Kaiwaka is central to a hapu development project at Mangawhai.
The new homes are expected to provide retired beneficiaries of Te Uri o Hau access to safe, healthy accommodation close to whanau, marae and physical amenities such as medical services and transport.