22 whānau move into homes in Nikau Street, Hastings

While in Nikau Street, Minister Woods visited Ashleigh and Patrick who have recently moved into one of the new homes with their 3 children. 

Minister Woods and Ashleigh with Peace

They have spent the last 4 years living in a variety of motels and at a marae in Napier. It has been a stressful journey for the whānau to their new home. Now the kids feel safe and the family are looking forward to settling down.

The challenges faced by Ashleigh, Patrick and others to find a home, are what drives the work of Kāinga Ora and why the completion of developments like Nikau Street are worth noting, says East North Island Acting Regional Director Ron Reedy.

“In Hastings we are getting whanau into warm, dry, safe homes as quickly as possible thanks to a series of new housing developments recently completed.”

Despite challenges facing the construction industry due to COVID-19, in Nikau Street the first 7 homes were completed in 5 months and the second stage of 15 homes were delivered in 15 months.

“This is a significant achievement and great news for local industry too with the majority of trades coming from the Hawkes Bay region.”

The homes are a mix of single story, duplex and terraced homes.

The homes mark good progress for the Hastings place-based approach, says Ron. “They were designed in collaboration with iwi and Hastings District Council and are part of a wider plan of work to deliver more homes at scale and pace by working together. In 2019, Hastings became a pilot for the government’s place-based housing initiatives that provide suitable housing solutions for individual communities.”

Kāinga Ora has delivered 132 new public homes (1 July 2021 – 30 September 2022) in Hastings and has another 105 homes are under construction or close to it. Another 83 public homes are contracted to be purchased from developers when they are completed.

The homes in Nikau Street build on other major housing developments Kāinga Ora has delivered in Hastings this year.  This includes two large developments in Mahora; 40 homes in Kauri Street, and 28 homes (including 14 transitional homes) off Tomoana Road. There have been 39 homes delivered across two significant developments in Mayfair. The last of these homes will be blessed next week. In St Leonards, on top of the 22 Nikau Street homes, another 16 homes down the road in Hinau Street were completed earlier this year.

Kāinga Ora is working alongside iwi, Councils, local organisations and build partners. All have the same goal – to share resources and develop a practical plan to address the housing needs. More than 600 houses are projected to be built by 2023 between all partners to the plan.

See more developments happening in the Hawkes' Bay region