Hon Alfred Ngaro
Associate Minister for Social Housing
24 August 2017
Consent creates more social housing for Tauranga
Tauranga now has 41 transitional housing places available for local families with a further 19 due to open by December,
Associate Minister for Social Housing Alfred Ngaro says.
Tauranga City Council has now granted consent for a transitional housing development in Opal Drive, Papamoa which will
see approximately 80 local families housed every year.
Site works at the Opal Drive site will begin in early September, with the first homes likely to arrive on site in late
September and the full site up and running by December. Changes to the original plans, such as shifting two driveways
from Doncaster Drive to Opal Drive, have been made in response to community feedback.
“We’ve worked really hard to bring our innovative transitional housing model to Tauranga so l’m pleased to see these
plans come to fruition and local families receiving the help they need,” says Mr Ngaro.
“The Ministry of Social Development will be partnering with the Tauranga Community Housing Trust to help provide support
for families living in the homes.
“These will be families who have found themselves without somewhere secure and stable to live. They may have been in an
overcrowded living situation, or unable to find somewhere affordable to live.
TCHT is a longstanding Bay of Plenty provider of housing and housing-related services, and will provide tailored
wrap-around support to the families at the Opal Drive development.
“Providers like TCHT, Te Tuinga Whanau and The Salvation Army are providing locals with both housing support and also
tailored help to address other challenges our families face - from budgeting and parenting advice to cooking lessons and
cultural and community connections.
“Earlier this year we announced our plans to bring 68 transitional housing places to Tauranga and Papamoa and we are on
track to deliver this by the end of the year.
“These places are in addition to the 150 social houses we’re planning to secure in the area and will allow us to help
272 local people and families every year.
“This Government is the first to invest in transitional housing and it is making a very real difference to the hundreds
of kiwi families who’ve been helped so far.”
ENDS