Tauranga City Council will be asking for community feedback on the future of two elder housing villages via the upcoming Long Term Plan.

Pitau Road village and Hinau Street village, along with seven others, collectively form council's elder housing portfolio.

Following community consultation in 2018, the decision was made to sell all nine villages to a public housing provider to ensure long-term sustainability of public housing in Tauranga.

As the sale process has progressed, two villages were identified as being in a non-priority location for public housing: in Mount Maunganui.

Other areas in the city have a higher need for public housing and are a more immediate priority for redevelopment.

GM: Strategy and Growth at Tauranga City Council Christine Jones says formal negotiations are underway with Kāinga Ora, central government's housing provider, with the aim to sell the elder housing villages in 2021.

'We are working closely with Kāinga Ora as we move through the sale process. As part of the pre-sale due diligence, we have considered the location and potential to improve the quality and quantity of housing in each village.

'Two villages, Pitau Road and Hinau Street, located in Mount Maunganui are not in a priority area for public housing demand. Therefore, we are considering if these parcels of land are better suited for other uses.

'By consulting on an alternative option for these two sites, we're give our community an opportunity to share their views on whether they think this is the right approach."

Pitau Road village is the oldest village in the portfolio while Hinau Street village is the smallest village, both in terms of land size and number of units.

Both villages no longer meet recommended minimum housing standards and need costly redevelopment.

The combined estimated market value for these two properties is about $18 to $23 million.

If the decision is to separate these two villages from the porfolio, the remaining villages will still offer significant scope for public housing redevelopment, which over time would deliver more homes that are of a higher standard for those in need.

Darren Toy, Regional Director, Bay of Plenty at Kāinga Ora, says community need is one of the key aspects of consideration when looking at suitable locations for public housing.

'When looking at increasing housing supply and redevelopment, we consider many factors relevant to an area to ensure we deliver the right types of homes in the right places to meet the need in the community.

'Kāinga Ora is supportive of council's decision to consult with the community on the future of the two villages. For us, the purchase of some of the council's elder housing villages would provide Kāinga Ora with sites that have redevelopment potential, allowing for increased public housing supply over time in areas of high demand.”

Darren says this is part of wider work to deliver more public housing in the Bay of Plenty and across the country.

'Under the Government's recently released Public Housing Plan, around 430–450 additional public housing places and 150–460 transitional housing places are expected to be delivered across the Bay of Plenty by 2024. Nationally, over 18,000 extra public housing places are expected to be delivered by 2024.”

Options for community consultation
The community will be invited to have their say on two options for Pitau Road village and Hinau Street village as part of council's upcoming Long Term Plan consultation commencing in May.

Option one: Following further negotiation with Kāinga Ora, Pitau Road village and/or Hinau Street village may be separated from the elder housing portfolio and the land sold at market value.

Option two: Pitau Road village and/or Hinau Street village will stay in the elder housing portfolio, to be sold to one or more community housing providers, a consortium including one or more community housing providers, or a central government entity.

A separate consultation document will explain more about this process and why council has decided to consult on the future of these villages. This document will be available from 7 May 2021.

'Throughout this whole process tenant wellbeing has been our number one priority. That hasn't changed. No matter what decision Council makes, Pitau Road and Hinau Street tenants will always have a place to call home,” says Christine.

The proposed sale of these two villages on the open market is intended to balance the wellbeing of tenants (affordable public housing supply) with the best interests of ratepayers (financial return).

What it means for tenants
The decision to consult on the future of Pitau Road village and Hinau Street village will have no immediate impact on tenants. Following the community consultation, what happens will depend on the decision Council makes.

If Council chooses option one, tenants will need to move from their current unit, but they would not need to move immediately.

Council would work with them to find a new affordable place to live. This would most likely be in one of the other elder housing villages.

This would take time, so tenants would stay in their current units until a new unit becomes available.

'We would provide support to tenants during this process, including a dedicated support officer, a personalised relocation plan and financial assistance such as relocation costs and rental assistance,” says Christine.

If Council chooses option two, the villages will be sold as part of the wider sale of the elder housing villages to one or more public housing providers.