Councillors concerned at the lack of information for residents on the proposed Housing New Zealand development at Weymouth

Manurewa City Councillors are very concerned at the lack of definite information coming from Housing New Zealand about the development of the land next to the Child youth and Family facility in Weymouth Manurewa. The Minister Chris Carter made reference to the Weymouth site on July 10th in the New Zealand Herald.

Deputy Mayor Anne Candy said, ‘At the recent Mayoral Forum, I asked the Minister Chris Carter what was happening and for his staff to get information out into the community and to consult with the people of Weymouth and Clendon’.

‘So far there has been no further action. Speculation about numbers of dwellings to be built, how many will be Housing New Zealand homes and the quality of their construction is concerning local residents’, she said.

Weymouth resident Helen Pender has tried to get information from staff and Councillors at Manukau City Council who are hampered by confidential status imposed by Housing New Zealand, still in place on the venture.

‘In the end I went straight to the top of Housing New Zealand in the area and got some answers, ‘said Helen Pender. ‘However the most important ingredient is still missing and that is proper consultation with the local people. We want an input on what this place is going to look like. It has to fit in with us and not swamp the existing community.’

Councillor Colleen Brown also expressed concerns voiced by the community, ‘This is an opportunity for Housing New Zealand to work creatively with the community. I am really interested in how this government organisation is planning to put ordinary people into home ownership, ‘she said.

“That is a major concern to us in Council and in this community. There is no doubt about it, people want to own their own homes. There have been some awful instances of Housing New Zealand dumping on this community with inappropriate housing clusters. They have to get it right this time.’ She added.

ENDS

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