Three other neighbouring Barker Rd homes will be replaced by 10 homes, and three more neighbouring being replaced by eight in a two-storey development in Seddon Cr, where 24 3-6 bedroom homes are nearing completion in a two-storey block bordering the opposite side of the Chambers St reserve from Napier Boys’ High School.
Three existing houses in Bright Cr will be replaced by nine two-storey homes, and six new two-storey homes will replace two houses in Masefield Ave.
At the end of September, Kainga Ora had 69,790 homes throughout New Zealand including 1492 in Napier, and 1326 in Hastings
The replacements come in the continued Labour-led Government bounce-back from the former National Government social housing reform in which about 100 homes were removed or demolished in the area, among at least 300 throughout Hawke’s Bay.
Napier city councillor Maxine Boag, in whose Ward the developments are taking place and who was one, if not the first, to expose a looming housing crisis in Hawke’s Bay 10 years ago, said that while occupants were offered alternative accommodation at the time, many, including children becoming teenagers and then adults, took to moving-in with other whanau and friends, into garages and tents, or some going homeless on the streets.
Ultimately for many home became motels, privately at first but then as part of Government-based payment, leasing and ownership of motels, with National Government Social Housing Minister Amy Adams saying in August 2017 that four motels had been bought for “a brand new class of housing called transitional housing” and was buying two more.
About the same time, a month before the end of the 2008-2017 National Government, Adams announced a plan for 195 social housing places and 129 short-term transitional housing places in Hawke’s Bay.
Boag said today (Sunday): “There just hasn’t been enough affordable accommodation so it’s good to see people being moved out of motels into stable homes again. That’s really good news.”
The number of people on the Housing Register in need of permanent homes has risen steadily from 3658 in December 2014 to 6182 in December 2017 and driven by the impacts of the dehoming with insufficient replacement accommodation in the previous 4-6 years, escalated to a peak of 26,868 at the end of March this year.
Kainga Ora says it is building the new homes because of the demand for modern, warm and dry homes in Napier – “to help get whanau out of unsuitable accommodation and into a healthy place to call home.”
The homes will be matched to those in most need on the Ministry of Social Development’s Housing Register, and plans are being made to support the families and the neighbourhoods they are creating, and a “drop-in” session is being held tomorrow (Monday) at Marewa School for people to ask questions of staff and provide feedback.
