The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) has confirmed its support in principle for the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s proposed new housing provisions, which will enable more locals to access permanently-affordable housing.

Last month QLDC passed a resolution confirming a proposal that will mean developers are required to make a contribution to community housing. This is a process called inclusionary zoning - or inclusionary housing.

QLCHT chair Richard Thomas says the new rules will formally establish a process that’s been happening in practice in the district for the past 19 years.

“Since the first stakeholder deed was signed between Council and a developer in 2003, this planning tool has resulted in QLCHT receiving around $25m in land and cash contributions from large-scale developers over the past 15 years. In turn, this has enabled the Trust to assist hundreds of locals into homes to call their own,” he says.

As proposed recipient of the contributions, the Trust will use the land and cash to assist Queenstown Lakes District locals who are committed to the district. QLCHT caters to a diverse range of residents, from young single workers and families seeking assisted ownership, through to seniors looking for affordable and secure long-term rentals.

“These are critical members of our community and form part of our regional workforce in vital roles, like teachers, nurses, police and all sorts of other New Zealand citizens and residents living and working in our district,” Thomas adds.

The value received from these contributions (land or cash) is invested into QLCHT’s award-winning Secure Home scheme, or one of its affordable rental programmes. These properties form a housing stock which is held for the Queenstown Lakes District community in perpetuity.

Thomas says QLCHT will be lodging and publically sharing its own submission on the provisions when QLDC’s consultation process commences in mid-October. Although the Trust supports the key principles around large land developers making contributions, it does not back the rules around single land owners being subject to a contribution, or the proposed “top-up” rule, he says.

“We fully support these rules for subdivisions of larger developments, as has been happening on the ground here since 2003. But we are planning to submit against the inclusion of existing serviced lots and the ‘top-up’ of lots already subject to a contribution. We consider the latter has gone beyond the original intentions of the policy, and we would like to see it more aligned with the agreements provided to date.”

Adoption of inclusionary housing will go a long way towards securing enough land to reduce the number of nearly 800 households needing a home on QLCHT’s waiting list, and achieving its goal of assisting 1000 households into secure healthy homes by 2038.

Thomas says it’s important for the public to know that existing subdivisions which have already made a community housing contribution under a previous agreement with QLDC or QLCHT, will not be subject to the provisions, such as Hanleys Farm and Northlake. “There have been many inaccuracies portrayed in the media and on social platforms around these details, so we urge interested parties to fully understand the proposed provisions before commenting publically.”

Summary of key facts around QLDC’s proposed inclusionary housing rules:

• The proposed rules are subject to a formal public consultation process which starts on 13 October 2022.
• The proposal may change as a result of submissions.
• The proposed rules do not apply until Council makes a decision on the plan change following a hearing. This will take some time.
• The proposed financial contributions will not apply in the following areas which have pre-existing agreements in place with developers to provide affordable housing contributions:
  • Jacks Point, Hanleys Farm, Bullendale, Coneburn, Arrowtown Retirement Village, Northlake, Queenstown Country Club, Longview, Hikuwai, Riverside Park, Peninsula Bay, Allenby Farms, Quail Rise, Shotover Country, Homestead Bay, Tomasi.
• The proposed ‘affordable housing financial contribution’ is important to support the vital work undertaken by QLCHT in attracting and retaining key workers in the community.
• Since 2007, QLCHT has built and delivered a total of eight housing developments (119 homes) on land received through an inclusionary housing-type process, which along with other homes purchased has helped 244 local households remain in the area. Further housing developments (totalling over 100 homes) are also underway at Northlake, Hāwea and Arrowtown.

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