An artist's impression of what the Wharenui Rd houses will look like.
An artist's impression of what the Wharenui Rd houses will look like.
Nine new Kāinga Ora projects that will see 29 homes built in Rotorua’s Ōwhata suburb in the next two years are part of plans revealed to residents of the city’s eastern suburbs.
A community drop-in session was held on Wednesday at St David Church in Ōwhata to update residents on the housing agency’s developments in the area.
The plans include 49 houses on the corner of Mansfield Rd and Ōwhata Rd and nine other smaller developments totalling 29 new homes around different parts of Ōwhata.
Resource consent applications have been submitted for three of the nine smaller developments which, if approved, should be finished in the next two years.
Residents hear from Kāinga Ora what is planned for the eastern suburbs of Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner
Two double-storey and one single-storey homes at 54 Reeve Rd.
The were no detailed plans revealed for another big proposed development on 3ha of land, also on Ōwhata Rd, where Kāinga Ora had previously said it planned to build between 50 and 60 new homes.
An artist's impression of what new homes on Reeve Rd will look like.
A Kāinga Ora factsheet given to residents said it was still exploring options for the land bought in 2021. That included options for affordable and market housing.
Members of the public at the drop-in session could speak to Kāinga Ora staff as well as representatives from Penny Holmes, a Taupō-based developer building the Mansfield Rd houses before handing over ownership to Kāinga Ora.
Brian Halligan, who is a member of the Rotorua East Lions Club, attended the session wanting to make sure the park spaces at Mansfield Rd would be sufficient.
He was impressed by what he saw.
“This development [Mansfield Rd] seems to be quite promising.”
Eastside resident Brian Halligan looks at Kāinga Ora's plans. Photo / Andrew Warner
Eastside resident Mary-Anne Gloyne said most people knew housing was needed but had the “not-in-my-backyard” mentality.
She was impressed with the larger houses at the Mansfield Rd development, saying it would be good for keeping bigger families together.
“We were initially worried about impacts on our schools, doctors and other services but no, not against it at all.”
There are about 900 families on the Housing Register who need better housing in Rotorua.
Eastside resident Mary-Anne Gloyne. Photo / Andrew Warner
The factsheet said Kāinga Ora has used different ways to get more houses in Rotorua, including redeveloping existing properties by replacing older houses often on large sections with multiple modern homes. It has also bought land or properties for housing developments and partnered with others such as developers.
Last month Ōwhata Primary School principal Bob Stiles expressed concern there would not be enough schools in the area to cater for the more than 200 houses planned in the area, taking into consideration Kāinga Ora and private housing developments.
The Ministry of Education was to build additional classrooms at his school to cater for 100 more students but he was not sure when that would happen. The Ministry of Education has confirmed it has no plans for a new school in Ōwhata.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
