Housing Minister Nick Smith commended both western bay of plenty councils for exceeding the new housing developments agreed to in the housing accords.

The minister's approval came as he visited Omokoroa to announce Smith's Farm in Tauranga being approved as a Special Housing Area.

Housing Minister Nick Smith, centre, in Omokoroa today. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Meetings with Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty District Councils today are an opportunity to reflect on a successful first year under the joint effort by Government and local council to address the housing issues confronting Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty, says Nick.

'The key to improving affordability is increasing supply, and I am encouraged to see both councils have exceeded the targets set around the number of potential dwellings and consents issued in the first year of their respective Accords.”

The Tauranga Housing Accord set a target of 400 dwellings in Special Housing Areas in the first year. The Western Bay of Plenty Housing Accord set a target of 250 dwelling consents to be issued in the first year.

'The Tauranga City Council has established nine Special Housing Areas with the capacity of 1910 dwellings, which is not just in excess of its first year target, but nearly twice the two-year target of 1000 dwellings. The Western Bay of Plenty achieved 306 consents – more than 20 per cent ahead of target,” says the Minister.

'New Zealand's housing challenge is about more than just Auckland and Christchurch. That is why the Government entered into Accords 18 months ago with councils like Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty. We need to grow housing supply in these areas as well in order to properly manage the national housing demand.”

He's also encouraged to see good headway is being made against the other Accord targets. Tauranga City Council has targets around promoting smaller dwellings and section sizes, which are ongoing, says Nick. The Western Bay of Plenty has achieved its target of establishing the Omokoroa Special Housing Area – visited today – and he expects attention will now turn to its second-year target of assessing two further Special Housing Areas.

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor, Ross Paterson, says its Housing Accord with Government presents opportunities to fast-track affordable residential development in the Western Bay District, which continues to have significant growth.

'It makes sense to take this direction. There is strong demand for more housing in desirable areas like Omokoroa where we already have infrastructure and commercial development in place.

'The Accord makes it relatively easy to build affordable houses that complement the existing market by enabling the council to fast-track zoning changes without having to go through the standard Resource Management Act process,” says Ross.

'We are very pleased to show the Minister the land that has been set aside for this exciting development,” says Ross.

The Minister also announced today the establishment of Tauranga's 10th Special Housing Area – a 41.7-hectare site at Smith's Farm in Bethlehem.

'Smith's Farm has the potential to deliver up to 240 new homes in Tauranga. There is growing evidence that the housing pressures affecting Auckland are spreading to centres like the Bay of Plenty and Hamilton, and we need to keep up the momentum and continue freeing up land to bring new supply on-stream,” says Nick.

'I commend the work of the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty councils and look forward to further progress under the Accords.”