Crown land to be used for affordable housing

Parcels of Crown land are to be developed commercially to boost the supply line of affordable housing in Auckland.

Thursday, May 21st 2015, 10:00AM

by Miriam Bell

Housing Minister Nick Smith has confirmed that approximately 430 hectares of under-utilised Auckland Crown land in areas zoned for residential housing has been identified.

The Government plans to work with commercial developers to develop the land to increase the SuperCity’s supply of affordable housing.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) will lead a work programme to facilitate the process.

Smith’s confirmation of the plan came late yesterday after TV3 discovered a work tender mistakenly placed on the MBIE’s website.

He told media that an audit had found many vacant and under-utilised parcels of land, including in Reserves and on land owned by the Ministries of Defence, Education and Social Development.

However, he said that “precious nature reserves that nobody would consider touching” and playgrounds will be safe from development.

According to the MBIE document, further work is underway to assess the development feasibility of the opportunities identified so far.

Work is also taking place to establish if there is additional land that can be included in the process.

The assessment of land and its development potential will be ongoing and will be conducted with suitable partners able and willing to work with the Crown on these developments.

The MBIE tender said the programme is a unique opportunity to partner with the Government on a commercial basis to increase Auckland’s supply of affordable housing at pace.

It emphasised that input from the development industry will be welcomed to shape the process, and invited interested parties to attend the programme launch on May 29.

More details of the Government’s plans are expected to be announced this afternoon in today’s Budget.

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