Whangārei residents call for review of social housing density in Kensington

Kensington resident Veronica Turketo, left, presents the 1642-signature petition to Whangārei MP Shane Reti with the support of other residents. Photo / Denise Piper

Family friendly social housing is what the community of Kensington want in their Whangārei suburb, not the two and three-storey apartments Kāinga Ora has proposed.

A total of 1642 people have signed a petition urging the Government to halt all proposed Kāinga Ora social housing in Kensington, in order to review its scale and density.

Kāinga Ora plans to build 63 new homes on land it owns in Cairnfield Rd, Churchill St, King St, Kamo Rd and Lovatt Cres, mostly in two and three-storey blocks called walk-ups.

A dozen residents presented the petition to Whangārei MP Shane Reti on Thursday, in front of a three-lot site on Cairnfield Rd where 12 two-bedroom homes are planned.

Resident Veronica Turketo said residents support social housing and are not Nimbys, who say “not in my back yard” to development.

However, residents want something that fits with the community, she said, rather than the high-density proposed by Kāinga Ora.

“We want family focused social housing with community-focused, collaborative input from us and key stakeholders to be adopted for all future developments. What’s Nimby about that?”

Another resident, Joanna Brambleby, said the Government is prioritising getting families with children out of emergency accommodation, yet none of Kāinga Ora’s walk-ups are designed for families.

“They’re very small - I’m not sure who they are catering for.”

Brambleby said a two-storey development going up on Churchill St was towering over her unit: “You almost feel like an ant.”

Whangarei District councillor Marie Olsen also attended the petition presentation, standing alongside the concerned community.

Reti, as Whangārei’s MP, said he was happy to convey to Parliament the need for Kāinga Ora developments to have community buy-in.

“You want to be involved. We understand the need for housing but [Kāinga Ora needs to] take the community with you.”

It is fair for residents to want to be involved in development plans, he said, and the coalition Government supports the community being engaged from an early stage.

Reti will present the petition to the House, taking it through Parliament’s formal petitions process, which includes it going to select committee.

He urged the residents to choose a representative to talk about the petition, in person in Wellington, during the select committee stage.

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.