Christchurch public housing breathes life back into quake-damaged site

37 public homes in Christchurch, built to meet Homestar 6 or higher
Replaces homes damaged by the earthquake a decade ago
The Government’s latest delivery of 37 warm, dry homes, opened on a site where buildings had lain empty since the Canterbury earthquakes a decade ago, is another fantastic milestone for the region, Minister of Housing Megan Woods has announced.
“It’s heartening to see even more public housing coming on stream in Canterbury where demand for public housing has been rising at twice the national rate, driven by a range of interrelated factors including a shortage of housing, population growth, homelessness, and insecurity of tenure,” says Megan Woods.
Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust (OCHT)’s Gowerton Place provides homes for over 40 people in a mix of one-to-four-bedroom units, replacing 30 studio units that were badly damaged in the earthquakes and didn’t meet Healthy Homes standards.
“We are now building more new public housing than any government has done in two decades, with a focus on priority areas to deliver public housing with strong community connections. We have no intention of taking our foot off the pedal as we continue to recover from COVID- 19.
“The Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 provides for between 410 and 490 extra public homes in the Canterbury region over the next four years. This is on top of another 682 public homes that are already planned for Christchurch over the remaining two years of the 2018 Public Housing Plan,” Megan Woods says.
The Gowerton Place development adds to the 90 warm, dry homes opened by OCHT in Brougham Street, Christchurch earlier this year.