A draft Joint Housing Action Plan (JHAP) which provides a vision for improving homeowner and renter access to affordable housing in Queenstown Lakes district is now open for consultation. 

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) mayor Glyn Lewers said the plan builds on the council’s 2021 Homes Strategy, which identified the need for collaboration and partnership to 

address the district’s growth-related challenges in housing infrastructure.

Glyn said the QLDC has commitment from central government partners 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 the plan.

Councillors approved the plan going to consultation at last week’s council meeting (Thursday April 27) after some concerns were raised during discussion.

The ‘action’ in action plan

Wānaka councillor and deputy mayor Quentin Smith asked whether the draft plan was a “living document that will move forward into actions”, and councillor Lyal Cocks asked if there was “anything there we can do now” to get “some positive action”.

Glenorchy councillor Nikki Gladding said she was concerned the council was trying to solve a national issue with the action plan.

She shared Lyal’s concern that the emphasis of the joint partnership was on the QLDC rather than central government, querying how it could be a partnership if “ratepayers are paying”.

Nikki said she was interested to hear the community’s views on the draft plan.

What does the plan propose?

The draft plan proposes nine ‘solutions’ with a set of measurable actions. 

There are: more monitoring; looking at developing affordable housing on public and private land; using legislation and other tools; supporting the work of QLCHT; incentivise developers to provide affordable housing; focus on rental solutions in collaboration with the community; develop public and private partnerships; implement National Policy Statement on Urban Development changes and review the District Plan; and design frameworks to guide the development or redevelopment of areas.

The full draft Joint Housing Action Plan is available for review and feedback here.

The role of QLCHT

At last week’s meeting councillor Craig Ferguson asked council chief executive Mike Theelan to speak to the often asked question: ‘why doesn’t council just provide housing?’

Mike said the QLDC has “always adopted a slightly different line” from other councils and has responded to housing shortages via the QLCHT.

“That’s proven to be successful,” he said. “[The trust is] the most effective way for us to support housing in this district.”

However, QLCHT chief executive Julie Scott said in this week’s statement from council that 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”: QLCHT chief executive Julie Scott. 

“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,” she said.

PHOTOS: Wānaka App