Cyclone Gabrielle-displaced whānau to move into Napier’s Westshore cabins in the new year

A site in Westshore, Napier, will become a new home in the new year to a group of whānau displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Maungaharuru-Tangitū Charitable Trust secured a lease of the vacant land in Domain Rd from Napier City Council for three years.

The trust represents several hapū affiliated with Tāngoio marae, which was devastated during the cyclone.

Cabins will be established for families who have been living with whānau and in emergency housing since February.

Twelve pre-fabricated cabins will be moved onto the land over the next few weeks and will house about 20 people in total, including children.

Napier City Council executive director of infrastructure services Russell Bond said the families were among the many who had lost their homes from areas just north of Napier.

“Many people in our wider Hawke’s Bay community continue to feel the effects of 14 February. It is fantastic to have council and hapū working closely together to enable some of our severely impacted residents to have certainty about where they live, at least in the short term.”

Kelly May, acting chair of Maungaharuru-Tangitū Charitable Trust, said it would be the first time in almost a year many of the relocating families will be able to live together with housing security.

“Like so many communities across our region, we have whānau who have been displaced from their homes and away from their families, friends and neighbours since February,” May said.

“As a region, we need to continue to work together to ensure all of our communities can fully recover from the devastating impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, and we’re grateful to Napier City Council for their support, and for working with us to make these new homes a reality for our whānau in need.”

The city council said the lease agreement for the land, zoned residential, aligned with the period set out in the Order in Council titled Severe Weather Emergency (Temporary Accommodation) Order 2023, which provides relief from the requirements of the Resource Management Act 1991.