Three four-bedroom homes built by the Marlborough Sustainable Housing Trust for low-income families have been welcomed by the region’s Mayor Nadine Taylor.
With Trust chair Bev James, Mayor Nadine planted a tree, as part of the landscaping for the soon-to-be completed homes.
Children from neighbouring Mayfield Kindergarten, who’ve been absorbed watching the building process through the fence, sang a waiata for the celebrations.
Bev James, who has chaired the Sustainable Housing Trust since it was formed in 2008, says her Board’s delight at having the homes just about ready to be occupied will be far exceeded by the families who are moving in later this month. (October).
“Three large families are coming from transitional housing into these warm, spacious and affordable homes. We think they’ll love living here.”
Kindergarten staff and neighbours who saw inside one of the homes were amazed at how it offers four double bedrooms and a big kitchen/dining/living area as well as two bathrooms, one totally accessible.
Mayor Nadine says anyone would be proud to live there.
“I want to acknowledge the determined work done by our Sustainable Housing Trust over many years through to three local families now being about to move into such wonderful homes.”
“We are short of all rental housing stock in Marlborough but this is most acutely felt in the need for larger rental homes that families on lower incomes are able to afford.”
Each new Hutcheson St home has photo-voltaic panels on its roof feeding in electricity to reduce power bills. The homes will be let to larger families on income-related rents. A $1.8m community loan from the Rātā Foundation provided cornerstone construction funding for the project. Additional rental subsidies will be provided by the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development. The homes will be managed by the Christchurch Methodist Mission which is selecting the tenants.
The Marlborough Sustainable Housing Trust already provides one other affordable rental property in Blenheim as well as two funded under a shared ownership model.
Bev James says the Trust has an even bigger project in the wings to provide further low-cost rental housing in Blenheim but this was awaiting final confirmation.