Matthew Kildey hopes to get one of 49 new Kāinga Ora houses being built on Mansfield Rd, Ōwhata. Photo / Andrew Warner
Matthew Kildey hopes to get one of 49 new Kāinga Ora houses being built on Mansfield Rd, Ōwhata. Photo / Andrew Warner
He’s a former drug addict who has done time in prison and emergency housing motels. Now solo dad Matthew Kildey says he’s “squeaky clean”. He tells senior journalist Kelly Makiha why he’s looking forward to a new Kāinga Ora housing development.
Matthew Kildey wants to look out the window ofhis Mansfield Rd transitional housing property and see his new home being built.
After three and a half years of living in emergency housing motels and then transitional housing, the former drug addict and now clean-living solo father hopes he will get the chance to further prove himself in one of the 49 houses just announced for a 3.3-hectare site at 9 Mansfield Rd.
The development is a partnership between Kāinga Ora and Taupō-based building company and developer Penny Homes.
An artist's impression of new Kāinga Ora homes at a Mansfield Rd, Ōwhata development.
The homes will range from one to six bedrooms, including 21 four-bedroom homes, on a flat section on the corner of Mansfield and Ōwhata Rds.
They will be among nearly 200 new homes being built in the Ōwhata area in the coming years. Kāinga Ora also plans to build 50 to 60 homes on a 3ha Ōwhata Rd site it bought for $2.35 million two years ago, and an iwi-led project will build 93 new homes on former forestry land, also off Ōwhata Rd.
In the Mansfield Rd development, eight homes will be two-storey and the rest single-storey. They will have off-street parking. There will be a public park in the middle.
Site work starts this week and the homes will be finished in early 2026.
A plan of the 49 new homes for the Mansfield Rd development.
When the Rotorua Daily Post asked Kildey and asked how he felt about the development over the road from his home, he said he knew only too well how badly Rotorua needed more housing.
The moment Kildey became a dad, the former Aucklander said he “kissed goodbye” to his P pipe and eventually moved to Rotorua for a new start.
“I was a drug addict but my boy has changed my life.”
With his 6-month-old son, he stayed in some of Fenton St’s roughest emergency housing motels for one and a half years. Unsure of their neighbours, they stayed locked in their unit every night and went to parks during the day as often as possible.
“I thought I was a bit rugged, but those people in there were next-level.
Solo dad Matthew Kildey has been in transitional housing on Mansfield Rd for two years. Photo / Andrew Warner
“It’s like being in jail, and I’ve been in jail my whole life and I know what it’s like.”
Eventually, he was given his Mansfield Rd transitional home, where he said he had remained drug-free for two years.
Kildey said that move felt like a “pat on the back” for what he’d achieved.
“My muppet days are over... I probably swear now a bit much but that’s about it, I’m squeaky clean. I’ve been winning since I have been down here [in Rotorua].”
He would like the new homes over the road to be the next step for proven good tenants such as himself but feared they would go to motel residents who had higher priority on the Housing Register.
Kildey learned more about the new homes last week after Kāinga Ora delivered letters to neighbouring properties.
An artist's impression of new Kāinga Ora homes at a Mansfield Rd, Ōwhata development.
The information sheet said all homes would be brick and weatherboard with double glazing, an outdoor living area and fenced sections. Twenty-two would be accessible for people with disabilities.
It said Kāinga Ora would give priority to tenants on the Housing Register in the greatest need and considering work, family, education and other needs.
Penny Homes was “mindful of local impacts” during construction. It would minimise disruptions such as noise, dust and traffic, with no work after 6pm or on Saturday afternoons and Sundays.
Penny Homes had consulted with Ngāti Te Roro o Te Rangi to ensure hapū priorities were respected.
Shallow planted stormwater basins in the northwest of the development will help manage flooding and control stormwater flow to the lake.
Penny Homes had bought the land and been contracted by Kāinga Ora to build the homes, which the agency would take over on settlement.
Penny Homes general manager Craig Wyllie said the development would create apprenticeship and job opportunities through its Rotorua trade and supply partners.
Kāinga Ora Bay of Plenty regional director Darren Toy said working with developers was one way it was adding more homes quickly, as well as redeveloping existing older properties.
“New homes like these support the commitments of the Rotorua Housing Accord to get more Rotorua whānau into safe dry homes and out of emergency housing.”
What other locals think
Mansfield Rd resident Brian (Budge) McDermott. Photo / Andrew Warner
A sign on Mansfield Rd resident Brian (Budge) McDermott’s front gate warns of a “grumpy old man” and “lovely woman” inside.
The 77-year-old pulled no punches when asked for his opinion on the Kāinga Ora development. He said he knew more houses were needed, but got a bit frustrated when he had worked all his life and was now retired and looking after his wife, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, and was paying “six times as much” rent as others in social housing.
He said he also got annoyed people could spend money on things such as gambling and then ask for Government help to buy necessities.
Mansfield Rd resident Bill Carpenter. Photo / Andrew Warner
Bill Carpenter owns a house overlooking the development.
He said he had understood the land would not be sold so was “a bit brassed off” when he first heard about it, but later changed his “tune”.
“We need more houses built for the people who can’t get them. You’ve got to go with the times and think about other people.”
Drop-in session
Residents are invited to a community drop-in session where people can talk with the developer and Kāinga Ora staff about this and other public housing planned for Ōwhata.
It will be held on November 1, from 3pm to 6pm, at St David Church.
Construction timeline
October 15: Civil work starts
Early 2024: Services and roading work starts
Mid 2024: Construction of homes starts
Early 2026: All homes completed.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
