Kainga Ora finalising purchase of Wood Street for permanent public housing

This is part of wider work in the Hutt Valley to deliver more homes to help meet the urgent need. Since 2017, Kāinga Ora has delivered around 160 homes in Lower Hutt, with another 550 homes underway in either the construction, planning, contract or feasibility stages.

As we have worked through proposed plans, incorporating community feedback as well as the current housing need, we are now looking to deliver all permanent public housing on the Wood St site.

“We want these homes to work well for the families who will live here as well as the wider community,” said Greg Groufsky, Regional Director Greater Wellington Region.

The change from the original proposal of leasing the land to deliver homes which could be relocated, to delivering permanent public housing, has taken time to work through. The change meant purchasing the land, which is a more complex process. We have engaged with iwi and a number of government agencies to work through all potential treaty settlement matters on the land, and worked closely with Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust to investigate how we might work together.

Mr Groufsky outlined the importance of this process and thanked the community for their patience.

“It was essential to take the time to go through this process of purchasing the site thoroughly and carefully, and Kāinga Ora will continue to work with mana whenua on the development.”

“We want to thank the community for their patience, as we acknowledge this has taken time. Now we believe we have the foundations for a good housing solution that best meets the needs of the community, mana whenua and the many families who need a home,” said Mr Groufsky.

It is still our intention to deliver around 35 homes, and we are reviewing our earlier plans to ensure these are still fit-for-purpose. We will keep the community informed and share updated plans ahead of lodging Resource Consent in early 2023.

See other developments in the Wellington region