Plans under way for Whanganui District Council-led social housing provider

The council predicts an increase of 4281 people in Whanganui over the next 10 years. Photo / Bevan Conley

The business case for a council-led housing provider in Whanganui is expected to be finished by the end of the year, but how much ratepayers will contribute to the project is yet to be decided.

The provider was first proposed by Whanganui District Council in April, to build 1000 new dwellings over 10 years at a cost of around $300 million.

A report at the time from council community wellbeing manager Lauren Tamehana said it would initially require asset investment from the council.

That would involve the transfer of the council’s entire pensioner housing portfolio, the transfer of vacant zoned land for development and possibly a capital cash contribution.

The council is spending approximately $160,000 on the case.

KPMG Wellington government and infrastructure director Joey Shannon told the council’s strategy and policy committee the intent was to make a model that was not reliant on ratepayer subsidies to operate and grow.

However, there had to be a “point-in-time commitment” from the council, whether it was cash, the sale of land below market value or property renewal.

“That makes it viable,” he said.

“The council has done its dash and it is now the responsibility of the entity to raise the revenue through rents, Government subsidies and development profits to operate,” he said.

Committee chairwoman Kate Joblin said transferring the council’s pensioner portfolio meant the new entity could access the Government’s Income-Related Rent Subsidy (IRRS).

In simple terms, that was shifting the responsibility for affordable housing to central government, she said.

“[The] council needs to think about what it’s prepared to contribute so we can keep local control,” she said.

Whanganui District Council strategy and policy committee chairwoman Kate Joblin.

Shannon said the Government and external partners and investors would have a view on governance and that would be taken into account.

There would be a range of options around “council maintaining the degree of influence it wishes”.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said it was great to see the plan on the council’s agenda, particularly because the Government’s social housing provider, Kāinga Ora, had further job cuts and a simplified business model - “to manage social housing as opposed to building it”.

Last month, Kāinga Ora announced 321 jobs would be cut, following on from 232 roles that were cut following a report revealing the agency was looking at annual deficits of $700m.

In Whanganui, 138 planned Kāinga Ora houses are under review, with some already consented and others in the planning stages.

Tamehana’s April report said a successful example of a social housing provider was the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT), which had been “leading the way”.

Queenstown Lakes District Council provides land to the trust and a $50,000 yearly grant for operations/administration.

According to its 2024 financial report, QLCHT was granted council land for housing valued around $20m between July 2023 and February this year.

Land worth around $11m was granted to the trust in March 2023.

Tripe told the Chronicle there would be consultation with the community, iwi and hapū before any transfer of land took place.

The entity would provide a “mixed model” of housing for the whole community, he said.

“We need to make sure the land we use is in the right place.

“For example, if the land is for young families, it needs to be close to school facilities, and if it’s for social housing or older people, it’s close to public transport routes.”

Whanganui District Council pensioner housing at Garden Court on Bell Street. Photo / Bevan Conley

Last June, the Whanganui council identified 195 more pensioner units would be needed by 2050, with its current portfolio at 275 units.

Council capital works manager Rosemary Fletcher said Whanganui’s ageing population was expected to grow by 1.8% per year and the council predicted population growth of 4281 people over the next 10 years.

“That means we’ll need at least 2,000 new dwellings in Whanganui by 2034.”

She said the council was approving around 90 consents per year for new dwellings.

“Even if we round that up to 100, as a district we’re still going to be short of around 1000 homes.”

Tripe said there was a lot of council land and buildings available and green space could be maintained despite future developments.

Examples included second-floor apartments on Victoria Avenue, infill land, peri-urban areas and pockets of land around the CBD.

“They aren’t being utilised or are being underutilised,” he said.

“If you aggregate it all, there is significant opportunity to increase our housing stock - just within those areas and without putting too much pressure on infrastructure.”

He said the council could “sit around and look” at its available land or it could utilise it to create warm, dry housing for everyone.

“We need to be bold and creative, and I think the housing trust can provide that.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.