The new state houses being provided in Whanganui will be modern, warm and secure, Housing New Zealand deputy chief executive Greg Groufsky says.
There are seven two-bedroom units planned for a large empty section in Gonville's Poynter Pl. They should be ready for tenants by the middle of the year.
Another two are to be built on back sections in Grey St, later.
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There are plenty of people who want the houses. In the latest Ministry of Social Development housing register, in December, there were 64 requests for housing in Whanganui. Of those, 52 were from "at risk" people who needed immediate help.