A Kaikōura developer says he is ready to “push the button” on new housing, when the market picks up.
The 7ha Vicarage Views sub-division on Ludstone Rd is consented and has the infrastructure in place to support 83 houses, including older person’s units.
“At the moment, it is a paddock, so it can be grazed to give us an income, but we can push the button when the market picks up,” Vicarage Views owner Garry Robertson said.
“It is fully enabled. The bridge has been widened, services have been enabled to the boundary. It is consented and priced up and we could have sections developed in four months, if the demand is there.”
He is planning to start advertising soon to test the market with pre-sales.
The Kaikōura District Council received a $7.8m grant from Kainga Ora’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund three years ago to allow for affordable housing and older person’s units.
Vicarage Views would include 20 older person’s units, with prices for the 83 houses expected to range from $725,000 to $1.2m.
“I think it will go like a rocket when we go to market, but I’m just waiting to pull the trigger,” Robertson said.
The funding has paid for road upgrades, shared pathways, footpaths, culverts and bridge strengthening.
When the Vicarage Views is built, the new residents will be able to walk or cycle to school and into town.
The Infrastructure Acceleration Fund agreement was for 400 new homes, with the balance in the Ocean Ridge sub-division, to the south of the town.
Robertson said his company Cargill Station Ltd was planning to lodge a private plan change soon to open up more sections.
“The market has changed in the last 20 years. When Ocean Ridge was designed it was for big sections and it was promoted as a lifestyle sub-division.
“But people don’t want 800sqm sections any more. They don’t want chicken houses or veggie gardens. They want a 400sqm section with a big house.”
For those who do want a larger section, the Highgate development at the top of Ocean Ridge offered half acre and one acre sections in bush, with views of the sea and the mountains, for between $1.2m and $3m.
A 2ha area has been set aside for a commercial development, along with a village green.
There is even capacity for a school at Ocean Ridge, if required.
The shared pathway would be extended in time and a new road added to link Ocean Ridge with Vicarage Views, providing alternative access to the town centre.
The Infrastructure Acceleration Fund has now been passed on to the Government’s National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Agency.
Despite the delays, Kaikōura District Council chief executive Will Doughty said he was confident the housing outcomes would be delivered.
“We will need to work through with the new agency in terms of where things are at and how we are going against the new delivery plan.
“There is a very different economic climate to when it was first proposed three years ago, but we are looking at 2026 to deliver on our housing outcomes in Vicarage Views.”
Robertson also owned the Seaview Kaikōura sub-division and said he had enough land available to meet Kaikōura’s housing needs for the next 30 years.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.