Whanganui needs up to 195 more pensioner housing units as population ages

Vivienne and David Pearson have been living in Walter Nash Pl for the past three years. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui District Council needs to add up to 195 units to its pensioner housing portfolio by 2050.

A new report by Turley and Co says the council’s current portfolio of 275 should grow to between 460 and 470.

The current units, each consisting of a single bedroom with an open plan living area and separate bathroom, are located within 16 complexes and were built between 1946 and 1988. Four units - three at Walter Nash and one at Puriri St - are not in use due to land stability issues.

Council chief executive David Langford told a strategy and policy committee meeting a lot of work would be required to understand the report, which is 366 pages long.

“Officers, in conjunction with elected members, will dissect and digest this report and start translating it into business cases,” Langford said.

“Then, you can put well-considered budgets into the LTP [long term-plan], ready for July 1, 2024.”

Councillor Glenda Brown said she was horrified to read that units in Rimu St had black mould.

“I know we have to workshop, we have to plan, we have to do a scope of the work, but I would like to see, if possible, that be remedied ASAP because that’s a health and safety issue.”

Langford said the council’s operations team would be on to those kinds of issues promptly.

“That’s not something that needs to sit and wait until the LTP and budgets in 2024.”

The current waiting list for a unit is 10 applicants, with another eight applications under way.

For a single person to be eligible for council housing, they must be a New Zealand citizen or resident who doesn’t own residential property, aged 65 years or older and have an income of less than $61,538 per year before tax.

Assets must be less than $124,379 in value.

For a couple, one person must be 65 or older and both applicants should have an income of $74,300 or less per year before tax.

The report recommended two council complexes - Rimu St and Pukatea - be disposed of, with sale proceeds reinvested in the redevelopment of other complexes.

Six complexes were listed at an “A” in terms of decision priority - Puriri St, Walter Nash, Rimu St, Pukatea, Captain Laye and Garden Court.

When the Chronicle visited residents at three of those locations, feedback was mostly positive.

Peter Fraser has been living at Garden Court in Bell St for the past three years.

He moved to Whanganui from Tauranga at the request of his family and was able to find his flat “in a very short space of time” after approaching the council.

“I’m more than happy here, I really am.

“There are 11 of us here and I think it’s all positive when we talk.

“I’m still able to walk into town. I’m very lucky, and blessed to have a lot of lovely people around me.”

The Pukatea complex in Whanganui East is one of two the report says should be disposed of. Photo / Bevan Conley

David and Vivienne Pearson have lived in Walter Nash Pl for four years.

Vivienne Pearson said it was fairly easy to rent at the time but, anecdotally, she had heard the waiting list was now three years.

“We were on the waiting list for three months and were really surprised to get [a unit].

“It’s fairly cheap to live here compared to what we were renting before - a villa for $350 a week.”

She said since they moved in, two units on the next block along had been empty due to crumbling foundations.

David Pearson said he thought the best idea in the future was for the council to build tiny homes on land it already owned.

“That’s all pensioners generally need. [The council] would be spending $100,000 on a modern house.

“Some of these [Walter Nash] ones are freezing. In winter, you don’t get any sun in the back so the bathroom is like a fridge.

“An upgrade should be [to install] double glazing.”

A Captain Lye resident, who didn’t want to be named, said they had been there for 13 years and a neighbour had been a resident there for 22 years.

“I’m very happy and, as far as I’m concerned, no one is getting this flat. It’s mine and I’m hanging on to it.

“I can sit with my legs up and, I tell you what, I sunbathe.

“If you need something done you don’t have to wait that long. Things are organised pretty quick.”

Whanganui’s population is expected to grow by 7 per cent to 51,000 by 2050, with those aged over 65 increasing from 21.5 per cent to 30 per cent by 2048.

The report said phase 1 of the project should explore multiple housing models and ideas.

A multi-storeyed model could be suitable for Whanganui’s central city.

It strongly recommended the council create a joint venture entity with a registered community housing provider (CHP), potentially with Tupoho Housing, and explore Māori cultural housing models alongside iwi.

Mayor Andrew Tripe said he had visited a number of council homes during Volunteer Week in June, which had left him “shaken up”.

“For a lot of these people, it’s really hard being old. They were lonely, they were shut in their houses.

“I actually felt really sad. This is a wider issue than just housing. It’s a social issue as to how we, as a council, respond to all members of our community.”

The report was absolutely necessary to point the way forward but financial constraints meant it would be difficult, Tripe said.

At present rental rates on the units are limited to a percentage of pension income - 24 per cent for a couple and 29 per cent for a single person.

Councillor Rob Vinsen said the report contained some useful things but the council had to get more housing, whatever the category.

A rental property he advertised recently had 47 applicants, with only one couple eligible for council pensioner housing.

“I would consider [the others as] more into the emergency housing category,” Vinsen said.

“Whatever policies we get going forward, we’ve got to try and get more housing available.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and 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 the Whanganui District Council.