Wellington’s largest residential development site reaches major milestone

The 2.6Ha site is Wellington’s largest single residential development site, and the completed works have enabled more than 100 new warm, dry homes to be delivered there.

Kāinga Ora Project Director Will Pennington says over the past three years, the organisation’s civils and infrastructure partner, Te Aranga Alliance, has worked to upgrade aging infrastructure and improve stormwater management in Cannons Creek catchment.

“It has always been important to the partners of Te Rā Nui that we take the time to consider innovative approaches to infrastructure. While enabling significantly more much-needed homes, we’re also safeguarding the neighbourhood from future severe weather events and, importantly, protecting te taiao (the environment).

“This hasn’t always been easy. The size of the development and scale of the infrastructure issues faced by the neighbourhood has meant the redevelopment has been complex. It has taken three years to complete, and we want to thank the community for their patience and understanding.”

“We started by removing 56 older state homes that were no longer fit for purpose, before undertaking significant earthworks, levelling out the land for construction and replacing all the old, worn-out pipes that ran through and around the development site.”

With the instalment of a large 1,500mm pipe below the Esk site, the catchment for the new wetland in Cannons Creek Park has increased by over 35 hectares.

“Widening the catchment will not only help reduce flooding in the area, but, along with the construction of a wetland, it will help clean the water before it flows downstream and out into Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour. This is something Ngāti Toa Rangatira have been advocating for since 2019,” says Will.

“It’s a great feeling to have reached this milestone and I am proud of the collective effort that has gone into getting us to this point. Of course, we’re not done yet. We still have a number of significant infrastructure projects underway that will further improve resilience across the neighbourhood and enable even more homes to be built, ultimately supporting our wonderful community as it continues to grow and thrive.”

A partnership between the Central Pacific Collective and Ngāti Toa Rangatira will see affordable homes for the Pacific community delivered on the Esk site. These will be delivered in three stages with construction of the first 18 homes getting underway in November.

Esk by the numbers

• We’ve enabled 26,000 square metres of build-ready land
• Removed 56 old homes and enabled more than 100 new, warm, dry homes.
• Over 2,000 tonnes of contaminated materials were also removed, along with six abandoned vehicles.
• Nearly 2,500 metres of new pipes have been laid providing the new homes with clean water
• 960 metres of new wastewater pipes create a safe, resilient way to dispose of household sewage.
• More than a kilometre of new stormwater pipes have been laid to help with drainage – some of them as big as an elephant!
• At the heart of the site, two rain gardens clean and filter water before it flows downstream, helping to protect our precious waterways.
• We’re keeping connected with more than two kilometres of power and communications ducting.
• We’ve created 3,000 square metres of new roads – alongside another 7,200 square metres of resurfacing.
• Our roads and 2,900 square metres of new footpaths are guided by 20 new streetlights.
• We’ve planted 88 new trees and constructed a pocket park for play.

About Te Rā Nui, Eastern Porirua Development

Te Rā Nui, Eastern Porirua Development(external link) (Te Rā Nui), a partnership between Kāinga Ora, Porirua City Council and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is the visionary programme making this an even stronger community for the people of Porirua.

With plans to enable over 2,000 new homes and over 2,000 existing homes upgraded, quality housing will create more ownership options, jobs and business opportunities and attract new people to live here. Collectively it will bring even greater energy, pride and prosperity to this culturally rich community.