Next stage for Christchurch temporary village
30 April 2017
Media Statement
Next stage for
Christchurch temporary village
The Government is selling the Linwood temporary accommodation village to the Christchurch City Council, which will continue using them for people affected by the earthquakes, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.
“The Council will use the 42-unit Linwood village for social housing tenants displaced during earthquake-related repairs and redevelopment and other residents displaced as a result of the earthquakes,” Dr Smith says.
“The Otautahi Community Housing Trust will manage the tenancies at Linwood village on behalf of the Council. Existing tenants will be able to remain in the villages until their repairs are complete.”
The units can remain on Linwood Park until 2021 but may only be used by people displaced by the earthquake.
The reserves will be remediated by the Council when the village units are ultimately removed. Decisions on the future use of the units will be made by the Council and the Otautahi Community Housing Trust at that time.
The Government established the temporary accommodation villages on council reserves at Kaiapoi and Linwood in 2011 and Rawhiti in 2012 to provide local housing options for families while their homes were repaired. The Kaiapoi village was decommissioned in August 2016 and the 20 units sold by public tender to commercial and social housing purchasers.
“The Linwood village has provided a temporary home for 560 households, with an average tenure of 3-1/2 months. But demand for earthquake-related temporary accommodation has been falling from a peak in June 2014 as EQC and private insurer-led repairs and rebuilds progress and the housing market recovers,” Dr Smith says.
“The Government was in negotiations to sell the remainder of the houses at Rawhiti and Linwood to the Christchurch City Council when the Kaikōura earthquake struck last November 14.
“We consequently decided earlier this year to offer the 20 Rawhiti units for sale to farmers with homes significantly damaged by the Kaikōura earthquake. There has been strong interest in those units and we are currently working through the process. There has been strong interest in these units, agreements in place for over half and the relocations will begin this week.
“These new uses for the villages are ensuring they continue to contribute to earthquake regeneration while there is still an ongoing need.”