Strong population growth and increased demand for new housing have placed the Bay of Plenty at the top of the list for new public housing, the Government has announced.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled details of her Government's Public Housing Plan on Thursday, which identifies where in the country 8000 state and transition houses will go.
Read more: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promises to fix what she says is New Zealand's 'housing crisis'
The Bay of Plenty has been identified as a priority area because it has a high proportion of Māori in housing need.
Under the new 2021-2024 plan, the Government intends to build between 430 and 450 public houses and between 150 and 460 transitional houses in the Bay of Plenty.
As of June, there were 2855 state homes and 233 transitional homes in the region.
Including builds announced under previous plans, public housing stock would increase in total by up to 630 state homes and 271 transitional homes by 2024.
A breakdown by cities and districts was not available but the plan said supply in the region would be targeted at Tauranga, Rotorua and Whakatāne and work was also under way to bring on further supply in Kawerau, Ōpōtiki and the Western Bay of Plenty.
Yet, local leaders are sceptical the move will make much difference to a city already struggling under immense population growth and whether Tauranga will see much of the new builds at all.
Tauranga had some of the most unaffordable housing in New Zealand as a result of strong population growth driving house prices up 75 per cent over five years, the plan said.
Median rents had also significantly increased across the region and there was a shortage of available land for development.
A shortage of housing meant more individuals and whānau were living in severe housing deprivation, the plan said.
The region's state house waiting list has ballooned to more than 1500 people.
Housing Minister Megan Woods said the focus was on building homes where population growth had significantly exceeded housing, leading to rent rises, housing shortages and deprivation.
Tauranga MP Simon Bridges said that although it was good to see more housing for the Bay, "my understanding is this is mostly for the Eastern Bay".
"I strongly encourage the Labour Government to do more in Tauranga – it's our city's biggest issue by far."
Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller said the plans would barely make a difference in Tauranga.
"This city is completely lacking in low cost and public, social housing to support the population. You can see the pressure we've been running out of land at Pāpāmoa, running out of land at The Lakes and at Ōmokoroa and people are still pouring in here.
"It's completely broken so a reannounced commitment from the Budget several months ago about housing just simply is not sufficient.
"The whole city is crushing under the weight of its growth and there's no cohesive strategy on how to fix it. Yes, it's great they are going to build more houses but it won't change the situation on the ground one iota."
East Coast MP, Labour's Kiri Allan said the Government identified the Bay as an "absolute critical area" for housing and hoped to have built more than 500 houses between now and 2024.
"We're working closely with local authorities, including councils and iwi, who determine exactly where the homes should be built.
"We want to see the best bang for our buck and that we're putting the houses where there's genuine need," she said.
When asked if it was enough, Allan said: "We're pulling every lever we can to address the housing crisis. But these things take time."
Tauranga Community Housing Trust general manager Jacqui Ferrel said it was great to hit 2021 running with housing being a priority but "we need to get on with it".
"We're in a housing crisis that's growing by the day. There isn't enough transitional housing. People are staying in inappropriate accommodation until they can get a house. We are way behind everybody else."
Ferrel said the Housing Trust was building 117 houses in Tauranga and was planning more.
However, Ferrel was concerned there could be condensed areas of social housing on parcels of land.
"We need the houses. There is a risk that [by] getting quantity we lose quality and the lack of land availability means we're going to need to build medium density."
Vicki McLaren, of Accessible Properties, said Tauranga was "clearly high-need".
Accessible Properties own more than 1100 Tauranga properties since taking over from Housing New Zealand in April 2017. But such numbers were not enough on their own.
McLaren said the intensity of the housing market meant more people needed social housing.
"As we think about addressing this crisis, we need to think about what kind of community group do we want to build.
"Where we build houses and how we build houses is really, really important."
McLaren anticipated the Government's proposal would tie in with what the community housing organisation already has planned for the regeneration of Gate Pa in its Pukehinahina Project.
"We are excited about the fact there's a focus on the region now and recognition of the need and we are really keen as Accessible Properties as a community housing provider about working together to actually keep that supply going."
Tē Tuinga Whānau Support Services Trust director Tommy Wilson said a rent-to-own scheme was crucial and the working poor needed to be a focus.
"Those are the families that want to change, that can change if we give them a chance of putting them into their own whare."
He said the Government's plans were "encouraging" as many of the current state homes were old, mouldy and cold, which ended up costing the taxpayer with subsequent health bills being footed by health boards.
"We need houses more than ever."
Western Bay of Plenty District mayor Garry Webber said he was encouraged by the plans but would like to see more detail.
"What we need is to have houses for people at the need end of the spectrum, not the want end of the spectrum."
Webber said the council had already proven itself to successfully work with the private sector and central government through the Special Housing Accord in Ōmokoroa. He would like to see Te Puke and Katikati among the local locations for the new housing.
Acting Tauranga mayor Tina Salisbury said the plan was a "really, really good start" but was probably not going to be enough to meet the city's housing needs.
Salisbury believed Tauranga would get a "reasonable" percentage of the housing numbers.
In response to Bridges' and Mullers' concerns, Woods did not dispute most of the housing would go to the Eastern Bay.
"As part of [Thursday's] announcement on housing, Tauranga was identified as one of nine focus areas for future delivery of public and transitional housing. This is a clear signal that the Government is committed to further public and transitional housing across Tauranga. Our Government is proud of our record on public housing, which is delivering the largest build programme in a generation."
Woods said the Government was investing heavily in Tauranga infrastructure "to enable the development of more housing" and used the $45m funding towards the Te Papa Spatial Plan as an example.
More announcements are expected in the next few months.
Recent district plan changes will enable intensification and provide opportunities
to build more public housing. This is supported by an Urban Growth Partnership.
• Support Iwi and Māori to develop housing to respond to the high proportion of Māori experiencing housing need
• Continue to partner with Iwi and Māori
• Identify where land can be unlocked with advice from the SmartGrowth Partnership
• 'Shovel-Ready' funding to improve transport choices and enable intensification in central Tauranga
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