Bay of Plenty councils are being called upon to pay up if they are serious about acting on the affordable housing measures contained in the Smartgrowth policy.

Tauranga City Council. Photo: file.

The Housing Affordability Forum is asking the Western Bay of Plenty District Council to take action on the affordable housing provisions in Smartgrowth.

Smartgrowth Bay of Plenty is a long-term growth and infrastructure study paid for and endorsed by Tauranga City, Western BOP District and BOP regional councils.

The policy requires the councils to match the politicians' affordable housing talk with action, this year.

Speaking to her submission in WBOPDC's annual plan, Housing Affordability Forum chair Christine Ralph says simply getting to the point where they can hold a workshop with the interested parties will take 400 hours' work in council staff time.

Bringing the project forward from the initial workshop to where it will be publicly promoted to the business sectors and media is estimated to take another 1200 hours, time which will mostly have to be volunteered from the Smartgrowth partners.

Affordable housing is not just dumping cheap houses in the middle of nowhere, says Christine. Making housing affordable includes sustainable transport links.

'Because it's affordable we need a cheaper way of living,” says Christine.

'Placing an ‘affordable' house in a greenfield site somewhere isn't what affordable housing is about. It will force the owners to buy a car. It needs to be closer to existing facilities to provide a lifestyle that is more affordable and sustainable.”

The initial workshop needs to take place June-July to keep the policy on track, says Christine, who says the policy requires quick action on affordable housing – action that cannot take place at the present level of resources.

'A key outcome of the strategy review carried out last year and a key action is the delivery of a pilot housing affordability project,” says Christine.

The intention of the pilot project is to provide a best practice example of sustainable affordable housing projects.

The Smartgrowth work programme includes the pilot affordable housing project as one of several priority actions to be commenced in the 2014/2015 year – the first year of the policy's implementation.

So far HAF has prepared a scoping report as part of the project planning process.

The forum – which includes charitable housing trusts, developers, NZ Planning Institute, NZ Institute of Architects, and officers and councillors from partner councils – considers the solution to affordable housing lies with several integrated elements and not just one element.

The proposed workshop will discuss and develop a suite of council initiatives to support the housing affordability project.

It will identify council land that may be suitable, consider zoning for affordable housing in developments, and consider rates reductions for community housing trusts.

'We need to have a conversation about the levels of intervention councils are prepared to undertake,” says Christine.