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How many, if any, of the social housing units at 124 Wellesley Road, Napier are vacant and for each such vacant unit, how long has it been vacant? and 4 other questions

Answered 5 questions (2026)
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Asked by

Kieran McAnulty

List MP · Labour Party

Questions

  • 37799

    How many, if any, of the social housing units at 124 Wellesley Road, Napier are vacant and for each such vacant unit, how long has it been vacant?

  • 37800

    How many, if any, of the social housing units at 124 Wellesley Road, Napier have people living in them and on what date, if at all, were the units occupied?

  • 37801

    Further to his reply to Question 31349 (2026), have officials agreed to undertake any modifications at 124 Wellesley Road, Napier to address any design concerns raised by potential buyers and if so, what are those modifications?

  • 37802

    Further to his reply to Question 31349 (2026), what modifications, if any, have been undertaken at 124 Wellesley Road, Napier to address any design concerns that were raised and if so, what was the cost, if any, of those modifications?

  • 37803

    Further to his reply to Question 31351 (2026), have officials completed the necessary negotiations to have the homes at Wellesley Road operated as social housing and if not, why not?

Answered by

Hon Chris Bishop

Member for Hutt South · National Party · Minister of Housing

Answer

I am advised that all 30 units at 124 Wellesley Road in Napier have been vacant since they were completed in mid-2025 with none as yet occupied. I would like to note that the properties were approved via the Build Ready Development pathway (now a legacy programme) as a pre-purchase agreement for all 30 homes in April 2023. The development was designed specifically for a social housing outcome and at the time of pre-purchase there was a need for this scale of one-bedroom social homes in Napier. However, as previously stated, it has taken time to complete negotiations for the purchase of the properties by an investor and a Community Housing Provider (CHP) to operate them as social housing. This has been challenging given the size of the investment and range of legal contracts required to be settled to enable the funding and tenanting. (A previous arrangement in 2025 did not progress). The length of time this has taken has been a frustration and I have directed officials to facilitate all final processes with utmost speed. In any case, the necessary negotiations have now been completed and the enabling contracts to have the homes at Wellesley Road operated as social housing will be finalised shortly. As an outcome from those negotiations, a number of minor modifications relating to finishings and to support better tenancy management will be undertaken by the purchaser. I understand that alongside this activity, the CHP has begun processes to enable tenanting as swiftly as possible.