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Land sale - 1262 Cambridge Road, Te Awamutu

As a result of the consultation which took place in April and May 2023, we received 65 submissions plus numerous comments via our social media and through our information session. Of the submissions, 69 per cent supported or partially supported the proposal and 31 per cent were against it.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to give us your feedback.

After careful consideration and review of all the submissions, Council has decided to proceed with the sale. This is because there is a significant shortage of affordable housing for older people in the Waipā district and the Mayor and councillors (the decision-makers) believe that the development is a step in the right direction to fix this. Kāinga Ora can also develop the land much faster than Council could.

Here is the full report which was presented to Council on 30 May 2023.

Please see this media release for more information.

Next Steps:

Now we have direction, Council will work with Kāinga Ora to finalise the sale. We don’t have the exact details yet but construction may start as early as 2024, and could be completed in late 2024 –mid 2025.

Background:

In 2017, Council purchased 1262 Cambridge Road with the intention of developing it for affordable housing, including housing for the older people.

There is a significant shortage of affordable housing for the elderly in the Waipā district. The location is considered ideal for this age group because services like a supermarket, bank and medical centre are close-by.

Waipā District Council was approached by government agency Kāinga Ora to purchase a portion of this land in order to provide housing for Waipā people aged over 55.

Council sees a lot of benefit in this:

  • Kāinga Ora has the means to build on the land much faster than Council could, meaning housing will be available sooner for those who most need it.
  • It gives over 55s in our district an opportunity to live independently, affordably, and ideally close to family or support.
  • The money from the land sale would be used to repay the debt on the original purchase of this land, with the remaining balance available for potential investment in other community projects.

Of the 3.75ha piece of land, Kāinga Ora will buy 1.4ha of this from Council. Kāinga Ora would like to build approximately 30 single story, one and two bedroom housing units on the land.

What could the development look like?

The map below shows the area of land Kāinga Ora would like to develop, if the land sale goes ahead.

Kāinga Ora also has some concept images that show the type of development they are thinking about. You can find out more details on the proposed development on their website by visiting kaingaora.govt.nz/waikato. If the sale goes ahead, more detailed concept plans will be developed which Council would expect Kāinga Ora to share with you.

Have questions?

From here, Kāinga Ora will be your key point of contact and they will be sharing design plans as they are developed.

If you have any questions for Kāinga Ora, please contact the community engagement and partnerships team at Kāinga Ora by emailing Waikato.region@kaingaora.govt.nz or calling 0800 801 601.

It’s a condition of the proposed sale and purchase agreement.

No, single storey.

Should the sale proceed, Council would require the build to start within two years. If not, the site must be returned to Council.

Some of it will be used to repay the debt incurred to purchase the land. The remaining money is likely to be invested into community projects but that is something Council has yet to discuss; no decisions on this have been made.

There would be significant delay in Council delivering this project with its own resource.

The rest of the site is not as suitable for medium density development. Council will potentially sell or develop this for larger lot sizes.

This project is large and requires significant investment in both the build and the infrastructure provision. Kāinga Ora has this resource available to it, Council does not.

Because there is an identified need for this and this location is great for this age group due to the services in close proximity, supermarket, bank, medical, etc. It should also be noted that some of the people most likely to go into this development are currently in larger 3-4 bedroom homes that would be freed up for families if they were to relocate.

Approximately 30.

The units will be a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom.

  • Wastewater: The development will feed into the proposed Wastewater pump station that will service the T11 area (which this block of land resides in).
  • Council is funding this system via a combination of existing rates and localised development contribution funding tied to the growth cell.
  • Water supply: There are no localised upgrades necessary to service the development. The development will need to connect to infrastructure at the developer’s expense.
  • Stormwater: there are no localised upgrades planned for the T11 growth cell and no development contributions for stormwater in this growth cell. It’s expected the Kāinga Ora development won’t be detrimental to the downstream land owners, or they will work with the downstream land owners to provide something mutually beneficial.

Initial feedback from mana whenua has been supportive.

No, Council will not have a say. This is something for Kāinga Ora to manage.

Yes, there is a current, budgeted proposal to build ten units at Vaile Court, Cambridge.

Kāinga Ora have a strong urban design team involved in this project.

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