The Star: June 22, 2023

• By Dylan Smits
RESIDENTS have taken
their fight to the city council
over Kāinga Ora’s 17-unit
development in the Copper
Ridge, Halswell, subdivision.
It comes after the Government
social housing agency rejected a
residents’ petition
demanding a pause
on development
to allow time for
consultation.
Copper Ridge
resident Kevin
Roach said the
development would impact road
safety and outlined his concerns
to city councillors at their
meeting yesterday.
A major concern was that
it would increase traffic at the
Halswell Junction Rd/Albert
Wills Ave intersection.
Three years ago, Roach’s then
seven-year-old daughter was hit
by a driver going 70km/h on
Halswell Junction Rd. The speed
limit is 50km/h. She recovered,
but no action has since been
taken to improve the crossing or
speed controls.
Haslwell Ward city councillor
Andrei Moore responded to
Roach, acknowledging the
speeding issue. Moore said
surveys showed 15 out of 100
vehicles travel at about 70km/h
on Halswell Junction Rd.
Moore suggested the council is
considering a lower speed limit
during school time and a safer
crossing.
Roach told city councillors
with more cars because of the
Kāinga Ora development, it was
a “disaster waiting to happen”.
There was a long-standing issue
with speeding and a lack of safe
crossings for schoolchildren on
Halswell Junction Rd, he said.
Roach told The Star after the
council meeting, he believed
Kāinga Ora uses “cloak and
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Development concerns
taken to city council
DANGER: Kevin Roach
(left) says the development
would increase traffic at the
Halswell Junction Rd/Albert
Wills Ave intersection.
dagger” tactics when buying land
and housing developments under
way for social housing, limiting
neighbouring residents in their
ability to oppose them.
In Northwood, residents
initially signed off on a complex
for over-50s. Then Kāinga Ora
suddenly announced it had
purchased the development for
social housing. The city council
has told The Star it cannot legally
halt the Kāinga Ora development
since consents were already
given.
Roach told The Star he doesn’t
“have any faith in the council” to
address residents’ concerns over
the Kāinga Ora development’s
impact on traffic.
Residents want a separate exit
for the Kāinga Ora complex to
avoid more right-turning traffic
onto Halswell Junction Rd.
Roach criticised the
city council for approving
developments without
community consultation.
“The council doesn’t have a
grip on developers. Someone’s
saying, okay, it looks good on
paper, tick.”
Copper Ridge residents will
meet soon to discuss their next
steps.
• By Dylan Smits
KĀINGA ORA is set to build
90 homes on Quaifes Rd in
Halswell.
The city council approved
the sale of the land in July
2021, but the Government has
now finalised the purchase for
Kāinga Ora.
Housing Minister Megan
Woods said: “The Kāinga Ora
land programme is about
making strategic land purchases
in areas where the market alone
struggles to deliver the quantity
and type of housing needed.”
In 2021, Halswell residents
presented a petition to the city
council, requesting a third of
the land be retained by the city
council for future community
use or green space. The city
council rejected the proposal,
and all the land has now been
sold to Kāinga Ora.
Thursday June 22 2023 The Star
NEWS 5
More land bought
for social housing
Haslwell Ward city councillor
Andrei Moore said: “I’m keeping
an open mind as to what
possibilities may arise from it.”
Kāinga Ora is proposing
affordable, private housing be
built with a small amount of
social housing.
When asked whether he
thought there would be an
effective consultation process
with residents, Moore said:
“The development hasn’t started
so there’s still ample time to
consult.”
He said an effective
consultation process could
include questions such as
“what could be included in the
development that could tie in
quite well with the needs in the
area?”
The Halswell Residents
Association declined to
comment on the development as
it is waiting for more details.
BUY-UP:
Kāinga
Ora
plans to
build 90
homes
on
Quaifes
Rd in
Halswell.
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