What could more intensive housing mean for Te Puke?

A plan to allow more three-storey homes in Te Puke and Ōmokoroa will help to fast-track more much-needed housing, a community leader says.

But he also says some in the community are worried about who would be moving into the higher-density housing and says issues of affordability need to be addressed.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council says it is committed to keeping the small-town feel “residents know and love”.

The Government introduced new legislation at the end of 2021 requiring councils to make changes to their planning rules to enable more housing to be built.

Te Puke and Ōmokoroa are the only two towns in the district that fit the brief for the new law.

The council’s proposed new rules would allow sites to have up to three buildings of up to three storeys.

The rule change would allow more houses to be built in existing residential areas with existing access to the infrastructure, amenities, and community facilities. Homes that meet the standards do not require resource consents but will need building consents.

There are nine criteria that must be met for the activity to be permitted, including height restrictions, and having a minimum of 20sq m of outdoor living space.

Te Puke Community Board chair Richard Crawford said he could see the rules helping to fast-track “much-needed housing” without having to create more subdivisions, which needed their own infrastructure.

“It’s already going into an area where all that infrastructure is in place … from an infrastructural side, it’s actually quite a solution.”

But he’d heard concerns from community members who worried their neighbours might build extra dwellings without giving them the chance to object.

“Suddenly, they’re going to have a lot more people living on a property that’s next to them – and then what types of people, you know, the character of people.

“I think that’s the biggest fear that I’ve been hearing in the community … who’s moving in those places.”

While he said the rules will create more “housing stock”, he said the issue of affordability still needs to be addressed.

“Sure, people can go and do this [build more dwellings], but who’s going to afford to buy them?”

Crawford hoped the council would work with social enterprise groups to develop accessible dwellings.

While he didn’t think the rule change would bring immediate results, he predicted it would over time.

“I don’t think you’ll see a big rush, but I think in the next 10 years or so, you’ll see as people get the feel of it and used to and confident … you’ll start to see it happen.”

Scott Nicholson, general manager of The Hub Te Puke – a community centre that offers a range of social services, including a foodbank and housing guidance – felt the rule changes were a good thing.

“The biggest barrier to housing at the movement is just the sheer shortage – we’ve got more people needing housing than we’ve got housing available.”

“I think more intensive use of our suburban areas is a good thing – and we need to stop the sprawl into agriculturally and horticulturally viable land.”

But he also said the rules won’t address affordability, which he said was affected by other factors like income levels and the cost of living.

He hoped the council would plan for the town’s needs with a more intensified urban environment.

“What’s important when you live in more intensive urban spaces, is shared public space and those green spaces.”

Chris Johnstone, the coordinator of the COLAB group that works across the social sector including youth engagement, housing, and community cohesion, said Te Puke had “high housing needs and a supply issue across the board”.

“We particularly need more one and two-bedroom dwellings that are affordable for people who are on their own, and those on fixed incomes. Changes to rules to achieve this in a sustainable and healthy way are welcome.”

She said the proposed rules “make it slightly easier for example for people wanting to build small units for family members or to rent out on the backs of their properties”.

“While the rule changes do make it a bit easier, there are still many rules and costs that apply.

“For example, all dwellings still need a building consent, a resource consent is still needed to subdivide a site, there are eight standards that need to be met and if even one of the standards isn’t met then a resource consent is needed. And the overall cost to build is still really high.

“So will it have a big impact? No, it’s unlikely to.”

She said it was “really important that the things we do love about Te Puke are not lost.”

“We need our parks and community facilities to keep pace with the growth of our town so that people have the services they need and can enjoy a great lifestyle here.

“And we need our businesses and town centre to be strong, so people can earn a decent living.”

The council’s resource management manager Phillip Martelli said the council had been consulting on the rules since April and was “committed to making the most of these rules so Te Puke can continue to be the town we know and love”.

“When we asked Te Puke locals what they treasured about the town, they shared their love of the small-town feel. They also spoke about wanting to protect mature trees and green spaces. So we’re focused on safeguarding these aspects while balancing this with a demand for housing.”

“While the rules do make it a bit easier to build new homes, it doesn’t mean that overnight there will be significant change… the cost of land and the cost to build don’t change because of the new rules.

“That’s why we’re working on a wider housing systems plan for Te Puke, working with community housing providers, property developers and iwi.”

He said the council had created a “Residential Design Outcomes” design guide to “facilitate neighbourhoods with a walkable and cyclable urban environment, ensure public spaces such as roads and parks are attractive, easy to access and enable people to interact together, are designed to maximise sunlight and much more”.

The council is now seeking submissions from the public on the proposed plan changes, open until September 16. For more details on the plan and to give your thoughts, see the council’s website.