Whanganui Mayor eyes apartments and subdivisions as future of housing

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe says there is under-utilised space in the central city. Photo / NZME

Housing in Whanganui could look drastically different in the future, with more people living in city centre apartments above main street shops, infill housing on smaller sections and subdivisions on former lifestyle blocks.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe says there are “under-utilised spaces” in the city and its outskirts that could provide important options for housing.

The Government last month announced plans to set ambitious housing growth targets for cities, with reforms that include making it easier to expand up and out to enable more and cheaper housing.

Tripe said the Whanganui focus would be growing the district’s housing stock and providing a wide range of choices to meet diverse community needs.

“Different parts of our community need different types of housing – one- or two-bedroom, family, multi-dwelling for community living, and research tends to indicate that a mixed model of housing is preferable to pensioner housing.”

Tripe said there were three areas that could broaden housing options.

“Significant unused space” above retailers in the city’s main street, Victoria Ave, could be used for apartments. Such housing could contribute to town centre regeneration, Tripe told Local Democracy Reporting.

“Think about the wider benefits of that – a vibrant and safe city centre, and also providing options that are desirable for certain parts of our community, for example, a 25-year-old gig economy worker who just wants a place to come and go.

“It’s about utilising what we’ve got and that’s going upwards. It would give us a more metro focus.”

A dramatic rise in Whanganui land valuations had opened the door to intensifying infill housing – subdividing an existing residential property to build an additional house or houses – especially for those who own large sections.

“The other part of that is for councils to make the process easy for those looking at building a house,” Tripe said.

Lifestyle blocks are also on the mayor’s radar.

“A lifestyle block might have one house, a pig, a cow and a horse on it but that’s about it. We need to think differently about that. A lifestyle block is not necessarily productive.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe.

“It’s important to hold on to the integrity of productive land, but I’m keen to look at 5000sq m and 10,000sq m lifestyle sections if they’re not productive.”

Housing growth would be an important aspect of the council’s 2050 vision – a thinking and planning exercise the mayor is eager to get started now that the long-term plan has been completed.

At the same time, the council would need to think about green spaces.

“A district plan review is on our radar now. We will look at a spatial plan, at how we grow and develop land, how we move people around from a transport perspective and where they live.

“We need to be careful and responsible about how we manage our growth, not just today but in 10 or 15 years’ time. That will range from ensuring that we’ve got good infrastructure in place for 20 to 30 years ahead, to realising our aspirations as a maturing district.”

The 25-year vision would consider optimising use of the redeveloped port, natural resources such as wind and solar energy, and building capability for the industries of tomorrow.

“There is quite a bit to unpack,” Tripe said. “That includes how we leverage Te Awa Tupua [the Whanganui River settlement] in a positive way and our Unesco city of design designation.”

The council could also investigate developing an independent housing model similar to Queenstown Lakes District Council’s community housing trust, set up to provide affordable housing.

Tripe said how housing growth was paid for was key. New housing required new water and other services, roads, paths and green space.

“Developers will need to pay for growth-related infrastructure through development contributions.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air