Feedback is now open on a draft Joint Housing Action Plan (JHAP) for Queenstown Lakes, working towards a vision for improving homeowner and renter access to affordable housing.

Identified as a priority initiative in the Queenstown Lakes spatial plan by the Grow Well Whaiora partnership, the group of local and central government partners is progressing tackling the district’s housing challenges in the short and long term.

Queenstown Lakes Mayor Glyn Lewers said the plan builds on and complements the Council’s Homes Strategy 2021, which itself identified the need for collaboration and partnership to address the district’s growth-related challenges in housing infrastructure.

“It is significant and encouraging that Queenstown Lakes District Council has commitment from our central government partners including Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga - Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Kāinga Ora, alongside Kāi Tahu and Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT), to support the outcomes in this plan.”

The draft plan proposes nine solutions, each with their own set of measurable actions. With a number of actions already underway, Mayor Lewers said he is pleased with the cohesive approach the draft brings to the range of interventions which come together to support the district’s housing needs now and into the future.

Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust Chief Executive Julie Scott said demand for the Trust’s services has soared, with housing issues in the district expanding beyond affordability to a serious lack of affordable rental properties.

“We cannot do it all on our own and welcome the collaborative approach of the draft JHAP, and the opportunity to bring in further central Government support in different ways to enable our district to build better housing resilience.”

Kāinga Ora Regional Director Kerrie Young said it has been pleasing to see the plan come from collaborative effort with the partnership: “The spatial plan identifies where future growth in the Queenstown Lakes community can occur, and now we have a joint housing plan that highlights the critical need for affordable housing in the district, which informs initiatives and actions that all partners can work towards together.”

Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Partnership Director Rebecca Maplesden said “Queenstown's housing and urban development challenges are unique and require new thinking and multiple solutions. This is why we’re excited to be part of the Joint Housing Action Plan that brings together the agencies, organisations and community groups needed to progress initiatives to develop more housing and infrastructure in the future.”

The draft Joint Housing Action Plan is available for review and feedback at letstalk.qldc.govt.nz/jhap

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