Work on Puriri Park Rd state houses to start in autumn

Kāinga Ora plans to start the construction of state houses on Puriri Park Rd in Whangārei some time this autumn.

Construction of state houses in Whangārei is expected to start as early as next month after independent hearing commissioners gave the green light despite widespread opposition.

Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities will build 37 mostly one and two-bedroom houses on bare land on Puriri Park Rd, zoned residential housing by the Whangārei District Council (WDC).

Kāinga Ora is a Crown entity comprising KiwiBuild, Housing New Zealand, and its development subsidiary, Hobsonville Land Company.

In November, independent hearing commissioners David Hill (chairman) and Alan Withy gave the controversial state housing development the green light despite 98 per cent of public submitters being opposed to the plan.

WDC and the Northland Regional Council notified the resource consent and attracted 346 written submissions.

Of those, 340 submitters opposed the proposed development and eight of 10 submitters to the NRC were against the plan.

A Kāinga Ora spokesman this week said the government agency was on track to get work under way some time in autumn, although the exact start date was unknown.

Late last year, in order to provide plenty of advanced notice of the site being enclosed for safety reasons, Kāinga Ora advised residents it expected work to begin in March.

"The first work to get under way will be earthworks, tree removal and demolition. Some of this work is weather dependent, so if there are delays in starting, it may not be able to begin until spring 2020. We'll update residents if delays occur."

The development includes construction of 15 one-bedroom duplexes, four two-bedroom duplexes, a three-bedroom standalone house, six three-bedroom duplexes, eight four-bedroom duplexes and three five-bedroom standalone homes.

Residents closest to the new development said while they were disappointed with the outcome, there was nothing that could be done.

Apart from the development on Puriri Park Rd, the Government will make 180 extra state houses available in Northland over four years.

There will be 105 in Whangārei, 65 in the Far North and 10 in Kaitaia.