Tararua District Council application for infrastructure grant – through to Round Two

Our district needs more houses and to help address the current housing shortage, Council has applied for two grants totalling $8.5 million.

If the application is successful, the grant could help to lay the foundations for two large housing infrastructure developments in Pahiatua. The grant would pay towards $12.2 million of cost for Pahiatua urban infrastructure with the balance coming from Council funding.

The proposed infrastructure works would be the second largest ever undertaken by Council, with the current Route 52 works being the largest, at $14.6 million. Council’s “registration of interest” was one of over 200 nationwide who were competing for a slice of the $1 billion on offer via the Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund. Only 80 made it through to the 2nd stage of the application process, including Council’s two proposals. Council’s application to Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, focuses on the core infrastructure needed to build more houses such as the installation of new water, stormwater, wastewater, roads, footpaths, streetlights and other necessary infrastructure.

The envisioned sites for development are in Pahiatua South where there is potential for up to 120 new house sites (600 m2 sections), and at the former Pahiatua Hillcrest School where there is potential for up to 50 new house sites (400 m2 sections). Both sites are on Council land with residential zoning.  If successful, about 70% of the cost will be covered by the Kāinga Ora grants.

Peter Wimsett, Council’s Manager Strategy and Climate Change who submitted the application on behalf of Council says: “At the request of Kāinga Ora, we are currently preparing a more detailed follow-up proposal that we will be submitting before the 17 December deadline. An essential part of the current planning is working with Horizons Regional Council for stormwater systems and Iwi, who have land interests in the area and aspirations for development. If the second stage of applications are successful, the grants could help to “lay the foundation” for two large housing developments in Pahiatua for potentially up to 170 new houses.”

There are currently many jobs that cannot be filled in Tararua in manufacturing and agriculture, and the lack of housing, especially rental houses and one- or two-bedroom houses, has been cited by large employers as a reason that positions cannot be filled. The biggest demand for housing in the Tararua District is currently in Pahiatua driven by soaring house prices and manufacturing businesses wanting to expand operations in the Tararua District.

According to Housing Minister Megan Woods; “The Infrastructure Acceleration Fund is designed to allocate funding to infrastructure projects that will unlock housing development in the short to medium-term. It will jump-start housing developments by funding necessary services like roads and pipes to homes, which are currently holding up development.”