The Queenstown Lakes Homes Strategy has been adopted by Councillors, at the Full Council meeting on Thursday 16 December, 2021.

Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult thanked elected members for their decision, noting that housing was a clear issue in the district and would continue to be without action and leadership.

"Housing is a fundamental aspect of individual, household and community well-being, and the Homes Strategy provides Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) with a specific scope for housing work, and sets out Council's (QLDC) role in influencing change in the housing system through advocacy, partnership and local action,” said Mr Boult.

“We now have 774 families on the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust’s waiting list, looking for a place to call their home, and while adequate and affordable housing is a problem in New Zealand, we are particularly affected by housing challenges in the Queenstown Lakes,” said Mr Boult.

The intent of the Queenstown Lakes Homes Strategy is to improve the housing system for residents in the district, by identifying challenges and setting outcomes, goals and actions to address housing affordability.

Formal submissions were open on the Strategy in August and September, with 62% of respondents in support of the strategy and another 82% either supporting or strongly supporting increases to affordable housing options. A further 60% of respondents supported the draft Action Plan.

Chair of the QLDC Planning & Strategy Committee Councillor Penny Clark noted that the growing waiting list with the Community Housing Trust highlighted how important the Homes Strategy was to the Queenstown Lakes.

“Housing has been a massive challenge for decades and while we acknowledge that we have a long way to go in this space, the Homes Strategy identifies what we need to achieve in the future to ensure more housing created in our district remains affordable for those that need it – the hard-working locals we all rely on,” said Ms Clark.

In addition, QLDC consulted on Planning for Affordable Housing measures as a key action of the draft Homes Strategy, which would require qualifying developments to provide for some affordable housing, long-term and for low- and moderate-income households. This is a planning method referred to as inclusionary zoning.

QLDC General Manager Planning & Development, Tony Avery said that while initial general public support had been shown for affordable housing provisions, feedback on inclusionary zoning as a regulatory method in QLDC’s Proposed District Plan (PDP) would need to be carefully worked through, and would be considered in the early stages of 2022.

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