Kāinga Ora proposes building 158 homes across Whanganui suburbs

A hectare of land on Jones St that was sold to Kāinga Ora last year. It is one of the streets Kāinga Ora intends to build some of its 158 new homes for the city. Photo / Bevan Conley

Three Whanganui suburbs are set to have more than 150 new Kāinga Ora homes built in them, according to a recent proposal from the state housing corporation.

The project is being carried out as a partnership between the Whanganui District Council, Kāinga Ora and the investment arm of Te Runanga o Tupoho, Tupoho Investments.

The Kāinga Ora regional director Graeme Broderick said 158 houses will be built throughout Whanganui East, Gonville and Tawhero.

He said the houses are being proposed to help meet the growing and urgent need for more homes for people in Whanganui.

"Making progress in Whanganui would be really good news, we know there are many people out there living in unsuitable conditions.

"It would make such a difference to so many families who need a warm, dry place to call home," Broderick said.

As of June 2022, there were 384 families in Whanganui on the waiting list for a home compared to 57 families on the waiting list in June 2017.

Kāinga Ora wants to put up 56 new homes in Whanganui East.

The streets where it wants to build are Marshall Ave, Matarawa St, Wakefield St and Jones St.

In September last year, Whanganui Girls' College sold a 1.0958ha empty site in Jones St to Kāinga Ora.

Thirty medium-density houses in a range of different sizes were expected for the bare land.

In Tawhero 50 homes are in the plans to be built across Churchill Cres, Smithfield Rd, Akatea St and Tui Pl.

In Gonville 52 homes were proposed for Harper St, Puriri St and Maire St.

Broderick said no decisions had been made and plans could change as Kāinga Ora consults with the communities.

Because of this, there were not yet dates for when the building of the houses would commence.

Kāinga Ora is hosting three community sessions in each of the Gonville and Whanganui East areas.

The first of these sessions was on Wednesday at Whanganui Girls College.

Elsewhere in Whanganui East, there will be another session on October 27 from 12pm to 2pm at the Hakeke Street Community Centre.

There will be a final session online on Tuesday, November 1 from 5.30pm to 6.30pm via Zoom.

In Gonville, sessions will be held on Thursday, October 27 from 3pm to 6pm at the Gonville Scout Group Hall, on October 28 from 10am to 12pm at the Gonville Public Library, and the online session is on Wednesday, November 2 from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.

Each session will provide the same information to the community, but there will also be a chance for people to give their feedback.

"We want to bring the community along on the journey and hear their thoughts about what we are proposing and how we can best support the community," Broderick said.

This was just the start of the conversation and Kāinga Ora was committed to keeping the community updated on the projects, he said.

They also advised people who cannot attend the sessions or want to share their thoughts ahead of time to fill out an online survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/WhanganuiEast2022