Lower Hutt residents plead for more affordable housing at HNZ meeting

The meeting was held at Lower Hutt community hub, The ReMakery. Photo / Frances Cook

Hundreds have turned up to a meeting about what to do with long-vacant Housing New Zealand land, saying there's a need for more affordable options.

Up to 200 homes could be built on the Epuni redevelopment in Wellington, on 1.88ha.

But in a first for Housing New Zealand, before starting any planning it today held a community meeting to ask locals what they want the area to become.

Housing New Zealand area manager Stephen Wilson said it was a new way of approaching it for them, and they were surprised by how enthusiastically it was embraced by locals.

"This site in Epuni is going to be a significant one for us, so it's really important the community has involvement.

"We don't even have plans yet, we're still in the master-planning phase.

"So we really will incorporate this feedback into the plans when we put it all together."

He said it was too early to talk about any mix of affordability and housing styles, because the project was at such an "embryonic" stage.

Kevin Day has lived in the area 20 years and said he'd originally been concerned the development would be a patchwork of different private developers with conflicting ideas.

But while those fears were eased, he was still waiting to see if the plans would address affordability problems in Wellington, "Particularly for people who want to get houses and look after their own place".

"It would be a shame, with such a big area, if only a small number of people could take advantage. Property prices have become so expensive."

Elizabeth Beattie agreed, and said there needed to be affordable houses without cramming people in on top of each other.

"I'm quite concerned that it could end up really high density housing.

"But as well, first home buyers are really struggling, many of them are facing a lifetime of renting, or they're putting themselves into horrendous debt.

"That's nuts, it's not good for society.

"But I don't think that building something that's two storeys and five tiny bedrooms would be a solution."

Lower Hutt City Mayor Ray Wallace said he was stunned by the number of people who filed through to have their say.

He said there was already a clear theme running through the feedback.

"I think they want to see a really good mix of homes, different styles for our elderly but also young families, along with the people in our community with disabilities.

"There's talk about the Government's new KiwiBuild programme, I think that's an absolute must, because affordability is a key issue.

"The average price for a home here in the Hutt Valley has skyrocketed.

"So I'm looking to work with the Government on affordable homes, I've had some meetings recently, they've said that's on the agenda so I think that's a positive."

The community meeting was held today at The ReMakery, but anyone who missed it can still share their feedback with HNZ by emailing Renee.Martin@hnzc.co.nz.

The Epuni development is one of five developments Housing New Zealand is working on for Lower Hutt, which could deliver up to 330 new homes in the area.