Consent applications for 10 Kāinga Ora homes on Delhi Ave will be lodged next month. Photo / Mike Tweed
A 10-home Kāinga Ora development in Whanganui is gathering steam, with consent applications to be filed next month.
Eight two-bedroom homes and two four-bedroom homes are planned on Delhi Ave in Aramoho.
Whanganui MP Carl Bates said the project had a budget of about $6.24 million and was expected to be completed next year.
The Chronicle reported in September 2024 that the Government was reviewing 11 potential Kāinga Ora projects in Whanganui, amounting to 138 homes, after a report found operating deficits were forecast to grow from $520m in 2022-23 to more than $700m in 2026-27.
Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities is the government agency responsible for the country’s public housing.
Last August, it was announced only seven houses would go ahead in Whanganui.
At the time, Kāinga Ora regional director for Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatū, Graeme Broderick, said other options were being considered for the sites, possibly including reworked plans or divestment.
“Future decisions on these sites will be made as part of our renewals programme, where we are prioritising improving our existing homes, ensuring they are in the right locations and are suitable for our tenants,” he said.
Bates said funding for the Delhi Ave development was approved from the Government’s renewal programme for the 2026-27 financial year.
Seven two-bedroom homes were under construction on Puriri St and would be finished in the middle of this year, he said.
“A letter [to inform residents] is also being distributed around Bignell St, for [a development of] 18 new homes, with estimated completion in early 2027.”
Eight two-bedroom homes are planned at Bignell St, along with six three-bedroom homes and four four-bedroom homes.
Whanganui District councillor Glenda Brown said there were several housing initiatives in the district and collaboration was needed.
“We all know there is a housing shortage, not just here but nationally,” she said.
“It’s exciting to see Kāinga Ora doing this because they’ve been talking about it for a while.
“If that can happen alongside what some of the smaller initiatives are planning, like First Rung, then we should be able to provide good, healthy, low-cost housing.”
First Rung is a charitable trust providing opportunities for first-home buyers by building one- or two-bedroom houses.
The original 138 homes proposed were part of “an unfunded wish-list” by the previous Government, Bates said.
“The difference here is that the houses we are saying will be built are funded and there is a clear timeline to ensure delivery.”
There were 198 Whanganui people on the Ministry of Social Development’s housing register last September, down from 210 in June.
The register is the number of eligible applicants not in public housing who are ready to be matched to a suitable property.
Whanganui People’s Centre manager Sharon Semple said “any new housing is good housing” but more single units were needed.
“There are a lot of rentals out there at the moment and bigger families can get private rentals,” she said.
“But it’s the affordability for single people, or solo parents with one or two children.
“A two-bedroom unit costs $470 to $500 [a week] at the moment and one-bedrooms are very hard to come by.”
She said there had been an increase in the number of younger people needing homes.
“Their affordability, especially if they’re under 24, is not the greatest.
“If there are two people [wanting to share a Kāinga Ora house], they would have to be on a joint tenancy, but that’s two social housing assessments to merge into one.”
According to Kāinga Ora data, no Government-owned homes in Whanganui are for sale, although two in Marton, on Wellington Rd and Beaven St, were sold last month.
In 2023, there was a proposal for 18 two-bedroom homes, 11 three-bedroom homes and four four-bedroom homes on a 1ha site in Whanganui East, between Jones and Broughton Sts.
Broderick told the Chronicle this week Kāinga Ora still owned the land and was considering the best future use of it, “whether to sell or develop it”.
Brown, chairwoman of the council’s strategy and policy committee, said work was continuing on a standalone Whanganui housing provider, which has a goal of building 1000 new houses over 10 years.
Council officers were engaging with stakeholders to understand the needs of the Whanganui community, she said.
“I’m talking about one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, that kind of information.
“That feedback should return by mid-year and we’ll have a fairly good idea what Whanganui needs.”
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.