The bid is supported by $129.3 million of co-funding from the council, already committed in its 2021-2031 Long-Term Plan. Photo / Supplied
The bid is supported by $129.3 million of co-funding from the council, already committed in its 2021-2031 Long-Term Plan. Photo / Supplied
In the final decision of its current three-year term, Hamilton City Council this week decided to push ahead with a "transformational bid" for a $150.6 million infrastructure funding grant to enable housing in the central city.
The council gave authority to chief executive Lance Vervoort to conclude negotiations with central government for its Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF) grant.
The money would pay for a new water reservoir and pump station, a pedestrian and cycling bridge, and investigations into other strategic Three Waters and transport infrastructure.
The council says the new infrastructure would enable up to 4000 homes in the central city and surrounds between now and 2034.
Mayor Paula Southgate says the infrastructure was desperately needed to support housing in Hamilton.
"We're in the middle of a housing crisis, that is a fact. Everyone in our city, including our children and grandchildren, deserves to be well-housed."
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate Photo / Supplied
She says the Government must come to the party and help pay for the infrastructure so the city can get on with delivering new housing as quickly as possible, without burdening ratepayers.
Southgate says the bid supports the council's aspirations to transform the central city into a place where people want to live, work and visit.
It also aligns with proposed changes to the city's District Plan to prioritise high-density housing in the central city and walkable areas around it, near jobs, transport and other community services.
The bid is supported by $129.3 million of co-funding from the council, already committed in its 2021-2031 Long-Term Plan. The council says, in a statement, that alongside housing, it will also support more than 300,000sq m of commercial and retail space and has the potential to unlock more than $2.1 billion in private investment over the next decade.
"This is a game-changing grant that will transform our central city for future generations to live in, create numerous jobs and other economic benefits for the city," Southgate said.
The council says the new infrastructure would enable up to 4000 homes in the central city and surrounds between now and 2034. Photo / Hamilton City Council
The council says it is working with key developers in the central city to get behind the bid and commit to delivering housing, soon. It also signalled that its long-standing aspirations to develop council-owned land that is currently Sonning carpark could help meet the Government's housing requirements.
However, Southgate reiterated this did not mean any decisions had been made about any site.
"We're indicating to Government we have land that could help us reach the level of housing commitment they're after. But that would depend on working with those communities, mana whenua and other affected parties through a number of issues."
She says that included working with the recently created advocacy group – Guardians of Claudelands.
Guardians of Claudelands was set up by residents "to protect and enhance" the heritage residential parts of the historic area, which includes the Sonning carpark on River Road. The group says it has information that a housing project of more than 260 apartments is planned for the Sonning carpark and that it may be partly funded by Kāinga Ora, the Crown agency that provides rental housing for New Zealanders in need.
Southgate told a public meeting of residents last weekend that the Sonning project was in its very early stages; nothing had been decided and there was "still a lot of water to go under the bridge".
The Government is expected to make announcements about successful bids to the contestable infrastructure fund in November.
Meanwhile, despite a tight job market, surging inflation and talk of a possible recession, Hamilton's economy continues to perform strongly, the city council says.
The council newly released Quarterly Economic Update reveals Hamilton's economy to be in good health despite challenging headwinds.
Hamilton's GDP was $3.1 billion during the three months to June, an increase of 2.8 per cent on the March quarter.
Growth Funding and Analytics Manager Greg Carstens said the picture of Hamilton's economy was "a little less rosy" when looked at over the entire 2021/22 financial year, with annual GDP falling -0.4 per cent when compared to the previous financial year.
"But when you take into account all the challenges facing our economy, such as inflation, material and labour shortages and Covid-19 disruptions, then you have to say Hamilton's economy is relatively speaking, strong," Carstens said.
Image / Hamilton City Council
Electronic card data showed Hamiltonians spent $694 million during the June quarter, with inflation helping push up people's spending. About 20 per cent of card spending was on petrol and automotive services.
Inflation hit 7.3 per cent in the June quarter which was higher than expected and very high when compared to the past 30 years. However, there was a growing consensus among forecasters that inflation had peaked, and would gradually come back down during the next two years.
Employment increased 1 per cent in the June quarter, up 4.4 per cent across the 2021/22 financial year. This was a reflection of the tight labour market and the high number of jobs available in the city.
The country's last recession happened during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Only four of Hamilton's top six industries experienced a brief drop in GDP during that period.
Even if the New Zealand economy did go into a recession, it's not a given that Hamilton's would follow suit.
"At the moment, our projections for Hamilton are that we won't go into a recession," Carstens said.
