Nine new Special Housing Areas (SHAs) will add 417 homes to the region after receiving Government approval earlier today.
Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith made the announcement alongside Deputy Mayor Matheson and developer Gary Adcock this afternoon.
“Nelson’s housing problems are not as acute as Auckland’s but we need to address supply, quality and the difficulties for first home buyers,” says Nick.
“The Government’s programme is to increase new home construction by facilitating faster planning and consenting, new tenancy laws requiring better rental standards and the new HomeStart scheme to help families secure a deposit for their first home.”
The nine new SHAs approved by Cabinet are gazetted are:
Toi Toi Street/Montreal Road/Princes Drive: 14 hectares, 100 homes
Bishopdale Pottery: 4.7 hectares, 60 homes
Ocean Lodge: 1.18 hectares, 40 homes
Betts Carpark: 0.12 hectares, 20 homes
Three Ridges: 5.57 hectares, 21 homes
Barcelona Lofts: 0.13 hectares, 12 homes
Paru Paru Road: 0.30 hectares, 40 homes
Tahuna Housing Development: 0.16 hectares, 18 homes
Orchard Street: 0.15 hectares, 6 homes
The advantage of the Special Housing Area status is that it provides a far quicker process for areas to be zoned residential and a streamlined process for consenting. It will enable these 400 additional homes to come on-stream faster,” says Nick.
“There is one proposed Special Housing Area in the Champion Road/Hill Street North area between Nelson and Richmond with the capacity for a further 200 homes which requires further work by council with landowners. My hope is that the issues can be resolved so it can be added to the programme.”
