Bayden Barber: Home ownership must be achievable aspiration

Bayden Barber.

My vision is for Hastings to have the highest levels of home ownership in New Zealand.

Home ownership has positive effects on health, employment, crime, welfare, wealth, education and the economy. It strengthens communities and gives people pride in their place.

If we want Hastings to be the best place to live and do business, increasing our home ownership levels must be a key priority for Hastings District Council. We need a plan and we need to act on that plan.

When compared to incomes, New Zealand is now the most expensive country to buy a house (Fitch Global Housing Report). Home ownership is at its lowest in 66 years (Statistics NZ). On top of this, house prices in Hawke's Bay rose 18.7 per cent over the past year.

I'm well aware that housing is a national issue, but let me be clear - local government has a key responsibility in housing affordability and home ownership. We can't sit on our hands waiting for centrally-provided solutions.

Council regulates land use and building through the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991 and the Building Act 2003. It's also required to provide quality infrastructure and public services for households and businesses under the Local Government Act 2002. Anyone looking to build in Hastings, be they private developers or the new Labour-NZ First Government, must first come through council.

Council can make a difference. How? By making home ownership a primary goal, creating land supply outside of prime growing areas and reviewing processes to make it cheaper and easier to build new homes. Additionally, ensuring key infrastructure is put in place in a timely manner would allow developments to progress faster.

Housing options need to be available across the spectrum from high value housing stock through to social housing. Council can achieve this by working with developers, social housing providers and the Government on a range of housing initiatives that meet the needs of the whole community.

This week council considered a proposal to build 120 affordable homes with the houses ranging from traditional large homes to smaller co-housing units. The development, whilst not social housing, is focused on creating close-knit, intergenerational communities where people own their homes. Existing marae, school and planned health and social services act as the hub of the community.

This model is innovative, community driven, and is supported by a range of stakeholders who understand the benefits of increasing home ownership. It's one of a variety of new models that council can support to increase home ownership in the district.

If elected as mayor I will make home ownership a key priority. Council will develop a housing plan for Hastings, which it currently lacks. The plan will have clear, measurable goals for home ownership and would be developed in conjunction with key stakeholders, and sit alongside HPUDS.

We will make it easier and cheaper to build by streamlining the regulatory processes. Home ownership should be an achievable aspiration for all those that want it. I certainly think it can be.

Bayden Barber is a candidate for Hastings mayor in the upcoming byelection. He is currently a Hastings district councillor and chairman of Health Hawke's Bay. Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz