19 September 2023
Barry Murphy
[FYI request #23628 email] Dear Mr Murphy
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), dated 28 July
2023, which you submitted through the
www.fyi.org.nz website. You requested the following
information:
1./ Could I please be provided with the "high level tested and proved" designs for single
story buildings for the consideration for the Ohakune LOTS 300-450sqm in size as they
were not part of the building consent application; only 2 level designs were included.
2./ Could I please be provided with the number of people waiting on housing in the
"Ohakune" (for the Ruapehu region this is 72) , please also provide the bedroom
requirements to make up homes (i.e. 20 x 1 bedroom, 10 x 2 bedroom, 3 x 3 bedroom).
3./ Could I please be provided with the reviews done on existing properties for sale in the
Ohakune Region in the last 12 months, along with the date the review had been done.
I.e. I would like to understand which houses have been considered and then declared
not fit for KO standards, along with any that may have passed the "Dimension" standard
4./ Please provide the same for land purchase reviews that have been considered for
Ohakune in the last 24 months, along with addresses, LOT numbers and any reports
produced.
5./ Considering Ohakune is far from any major town or city that has supplies, and the
lack of builders in the region, I would like to see costing including materials, travel to
Ohakune & accomodation for the builders. What is the average cost to build per sqm in
the Ohakune region for KO based on these rural elements.
6./ Who will the 29 remaining sections in Stage 1 be listed with, or how will they be sold.
Essentially, there is 15 "workers accomodation" properties that WPI was mentioned as a
possible buyer; how would they go about purchasing these at a discount and at what
discount?
7./ Which developers are KO currently in discussion with to build the homes in Ohakune;
if this is commercially sensitive, can you advise how many you are in talks with and their
locations; I'm trying to gauge if these builders are local or out of town.
8./ What engagement and communication has KO had with doctors/medical
practitioners/other departments around schooling and health capacity? Please provide
dates of when these occurred.
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9./ Has any report been provided or exist on the impact and value loss, to the Snowmass
subdivision next door and to the Carrot Park by having this intensified social housing and
affordable houses next door. Please provide these.
10./ Could you please link me to, or if not available on the web, provide the "Dimension"
standards that KO goes by when looking at existing properties.
11./ Can you please confirm that Taumarunui was not the intended initial location for this
CIP Infrastructure Reference Group funding, and that the project was not moved to
Ohakune because of a land claim; please provide all related documents to the CIP
funding and any modifications through the process.
O
n 22 July 2023, you asked an additional question, as follows:
David suggested he looked at developing TeiTei way back, but it wasn’t feasible due to
sewer main hights; he also suggested the storm water wouldn’t handle as its not piped
but rather houses lead into the stream, like my property at 30c Snowmass Dr does.
Could we please have reports regarding this.
As advised, Question 11 was transferred to the Ruapehu District Council on 30 August 2023.
Your remaining questions and our responses are provided below:
1./ Could I please be provided with the "high level tested and proved" designs for single
story buildings for the consideration for the Ohakune LOTS 300-450sqm in size as they
were not part of the building consent application; only 2 level designs were included.
Please find attached the Ohakune Masterplan dated 13 March 2023. Page 9 shows a 123
sqm 3-bedroom house with a single garage on a 287 sqm site as part of our early
investigations. This is a high-level test and shows that such a layout can fit within a lot of this
size.
2./ Could I please be provided with the number of people waiting on housing in the
"Ohakune" (for the Ruapehu region this is 72), please also provide the bedroom
requirements to make up homes (i.e. 20 x 1 bedroom, 10 x 2 bedroom, 3 x 3 bedroom).
I can advise that there were 12 whānau on the Housing Register wanting homes in Ohakune
as at 3 August 2023. However, we are also aware from Nga Waihua o Paerangi Trust
(formerly Ngāti Rangi Trust) that 35 whānau are in dire need of housing in the Ruapehu
region. For many of these whānau they have not seen the need of applying to go on the
Housing Register as they are aware of the shortage of available housing options.
We cannot provide the exact typology requirements for each whānau on the Housing
Register as the numbers are small and this would be considered private information. I am
therefore refusing this information under section 9(2)(a) of the Act to protect the privacy of
natural persons. I also note that this information will vary over time as people find alternative
housing or join the Housing Register.
At this stage of the development, the concept plans in the resource consent application are
indicative of housing typology and layouts, with final design decisions being made in due
course.
3./ Could I please be provided with the reviews done on existing properties for sale in the
Ohakune Region in the last 12 months, along with the date the review had been done.
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I.e. I would like to understand which houses have been considered and then declared
not fit for KO standards, along with any that may have passed the "Dimension" standard
Kāinga Ora has looked into homes on the market in Ohakune and new listings as they came
to market. However, no homes have been identified as suitable to purchase for Public
Housing, primarily due to construction standards and protective covenants. Therefore, no
reviews of existing properties for sale have been undertaken. I am refusing this part of your
request under section 18(e) of the Act as the document alleged to contain the information
requested does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
4./ Please provide the same for land purchase reviews that have been considered for
Ohakune in the last 24 months, along with addresses, LOT numbers and any reports
produced.
Kāinga Ora has not actively looked to purchase land in Ohakune (apart from Teitei Drive) in
the past twelve months. Therefore, no reviews of land for sale have been undertaken. I am
refusing this part of your request under section 18(e) of the Act as the document alleged to
contain the information requested does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate
it, cannot be found.
5./ Considering Ohakune is far from any major town or city that has supplies, and the
lack of builders in the region, I would like to see costing including materials, travel to
Ohakune & accomodation for the builders. What is the average cost to build per sqm in
the Ohakune region for KO based on these rural elements.
We do not hold an average cost to build per sqm in the Ohakune region as it is too early in
the development to consider this. The current focus is on land development and not house
build costs.
Kāinga Ora is proposing to build the public homes. We consider a number of factors when
delivering new public homes and many of these go beyond standard industry practice. We
are focused on reducing carbon emissions while delivering better-performing homes that are
cost-effective and efficient to build.
Our intention is to partner with a third party to deliver the affordable homes and worker
rentals. For these homes, our build partners factor these costs and logistics into their overall
cost to complete.
6./ Who will the 29 remaining sections in Stage 1 be listed with, or how will they be sold.
Essentially, there is 15 "workers accomodation" properties that WPI was mentioned as a
possible buyer; how would they go about purchasing these at a discount and at what
discount?
When the land is ready for homes to be built, Kāinga Ora wil invite builders and developers,
including local builders, to become build partners. Build-ready land is sold to these partners
to deliver in accordance with a Development Agreement with Kāinga Ora. It is too early to
have designed the long-term worker accommodation financial product, and this will be done
through the partnership with RDC and Ngāti Rangi.
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7./ Which developers are KO currently in discussion with to build the homes in Ohakune;
if this is commercially sensitive, can you advise how many you are in talks with and their
locations; I'm trying to gauge if these builders are local or out of town.
Kāinga Ora is not in any formal discussions with developers to build the homes in Ohakune
at this time. However, I can advise that two local house builders have approached Kāinga
Ora during a community engagement session expressing their interest in building homes as
part of this project.
8./ What engagement and communication has KO had with doctors/medical
practitioners/other departments around schooling and health capacity? Please provide
dates of when these occurred.
As part of our engagement process, Kāinga Ora, with our partners, will work with other
agencies and key stakeholders in the community to ensure local services, such as schools
and medical services, are prepared for population growth.
The most recent engagement events include the Community BBQ events on 30 August 2023
and 31 August 2023. In addition, at any time, any individual or group in community may
directly engage with Kāinga Ora and/or complete the online survey.
9./ Has any report been provided or exist on the impact and value loss, to the Snowmass
subdivision next door and to the Carrot Park by having this intensified social housing and
affordable houses next door. Please provide these.
No reports are held about the impact or value loss to the Snowmass subdivision with the
proposed development. Therefore, I am refusing this part of your request under section
18(e) of the Act as the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist
or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
10./ Could you please link me to, or if not available on the web, provide the "Dimension"
standards that KO goes by when looking at existing properties.
Please find attached the document, titled ‘Housing Standard – Design – Minimum Floor
Areas’. These are part of our design standards for our construction programme and are used
as a guide when purchasing existing homes.
Additional question:
David suggested he looked at developing TeiTei way back, but it
wasn’t feasible due to sewer main hights; he also suggested the storm water wouldn’t
handle as its not piped but rather houses lead into the stream, like my property at 30c
Snowmass Dr does. Could we please have reports regarding this.
I can advise that the resource consent application includes reports relating to sewer and
storm water management which you already have. These reports are also available on our
website at:
https://kaingaora.govt.nz/urban-development-and-public-housing/public-
housing/public-housing-developments/manawatu-whanganui-region/teitei-drive/
No other reports are held.
I note that we are still working through an agreed solution with the Council, but initially our
application references the following solutions to manage wastewater and stormwater. The
optimal solution is to gravity reticulate wastewater to a pump station and then pump the
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sewerage up a rising main and into the existing reticulated network. This resolves any
wastewater height issues. Stormwater works in the following three ways with the latter two
being contingencies:
• The primary stormwater for a 10 year storm event is first collected and treated
via swales before ending up in a downstream wetland for further treatment
and attenuation before being discharged to the stream.
• (Contingency 1) If water were to exceed the swales or if there was some
blockage to the system, then the roads would act as secondary overland flow
paths to the wetland treatment area.
• (Contingency 2) Given that this is exceeded then the two channels/stream still
discharge into the wetland which will provide storage and some treatment
prior to being discharged downstream.
Under section 28 of the Act you have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of this response. Contact details for the Ombudsman can be found at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Please note that Kāinga Ora proactively releases our responses to official information
requests where possible. Our response to your request may be published at
https://kaingaora.govt.nz/publications/official-information-requests/ with your personal
information removed.
Yours sincerely
Mark Fraser
General Manager Urban Development and Delivery
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