Welcome to Hononga Hapori, our New Plymouth Community Update for November

We've got some great updates for New Plymouth, so keep reading to find out more

Kia ora,

It’s hard to believe we are already nearing the end of November. I hope you have all been enjoying the warmer weather.

If this is the first update you have received from us, thank you for signing up and a warm welcome to you! We have some exciting updates for New Plymouth, and it’s great that we can share these with you.

Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities not only provides warm, dry homes for whānau in need, but also works to better support communities and build sustainable, thriving and inclusive communities.

Our team enjoy giving back to the community, and recently we volunteered for the Pink Ribbon Appeal for the Breast Cancer Foundation. We connected with some very inspiring people and were touched by the generosity of our communities for a very good cause.

I hope you enjoy this update with important information about construction milestones, the work we are doing with our partners to support communities, and even a fun competition for the kids!

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or feedback.

Have a safe and happy festive season.

Ngā mihi
Lauren Darrah
Kaitūhono | Stakeholder Relationship Manager
communities@kaingaora.govt.nz

What's happening in your neighbourhood?

We’re excited to plan and deliver new houses in New Plymouth, so more individuals and families will have a warm, dry, and safe place to call home.

We understand that you would like to keep updated about what is happening in your neighbourhood. As our housing projects and opportunities are at different stages, we have created an interactive map to ensure you always have access to the most up-to-date information.
A few highlights:

We recently purchased land at 70-74 Eliot Street, 86 Lemon Street, and 12 lots at 174 South Road in New Plymouth. We’re in the early stages of exploring how these sites could be developed and we will share any updates, including detailed site plans, on our interactive map.
Our developments at 66-70 Leach Street and 62-86 Wrantage Street and 17-19 Holford Street are progressing well with the delivery of the 59 homes due next year.
You may see some activity at our redevelopment sites across New Plymouth, including survey work, site investigations, demolition or deconstruction.

Find out more about the latest developments in your neighbourhood

Retrofit Open Home for Partners and Stakeholders

Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities is making significant improvements on a number of homes in New Plymouth through our Retrofit Programme.

We are upgrading these older homes to make them warmer, drier and more energy efficient by installing full insulation, double glazing, improved airtightness, ventilation and new heating.

Last month, we invited our partners and stakeholders to come along and have a look through one of the newly upgraded homes to see the significant improvements first-hand.

55 Homes have now been upgraded in Taranaki as part of this programme.

Graeme Broderick, Kāinga Ora Regional Director Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatu: “We want to ensure our customers live in good quality, well-maintained and comfortable homes. As many of our homes were built a long time ago, we are breathing new life into the homes.”

Opportunities to provide feedback and meet with us

In addition to our digital updates, we will continue to provide regular opportunities for you to connect with us face-to-face at our community drop-in sessions.

Below are the details for our next community drop-in sessions, where you can come along to ask questions or share your thoughts and ideas around how we can better support your community.

Date: Wednesday 6 December 2023
Time: Please feel free to drop in anytime between 11am and 12pm
Location: Puke Ariki Library (main entrance)

Date: Tuesday 12 December 2023
Time: Please feel free to drop in anytime between 11am and 12pm
Location: Puke Ariki Library (main entrance)

Calling all creative Tamariki!

children's drawing of house, tree and rainbow in the sky

Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities invites all tamariki to enter our ‘homes and communities’ drawing competition.

Encourage your Tamariki or moko to draw a picture, design a poster or write a story about what homes and communities mean to them.

Either scan or send a photo of the artwork via email to communities@kaingaora.govt.nz with ‘New Plymouth Competition’ in the subject line, along with the child’s name and age, and parent/caregivers name and phone number.

All entries received will go into the draw to win one of three $50 Warehouse vouchers – just in time for the school holidays!

Entries must be received by Wednesday 13 December 2023, 5.00pm. Winners will be contacted by Friday 15 December 2023.

Enter drawing competition through email now

Supporting Kai Security

Recently, we have been working closely with Sustainable Taranaki, Te Pūkenga, and Bishop’s Action Foundation to support whānau to grow their own kai.

Te Pūkenga construction students will build planter boxes as part of their training, which will be given to Kāinga Ora whānau who have expressed an interest in growing kai. Sustainable Taranaki will provide compost and seedlings, and then work with the families or individuals to provide education around planting and growing from their own backyard. Bishop’s Action Foundation will provide a Community Champion role to continue to connect with the whānau to educate and connect them to other related opportunities as local community gardens.

The purpose of this initiative is to educate and empower whanau, help build connections within the community and contribute towards kai security.

Here are Five Tips from Mieke Verschoor from Sustainable Taranaki to start growing your own vegetables:

If you are just starting; upcycling or re-using items like planter pots, washing machine drums, barrels, flexi tubs, watering cans and wheelbarrows of various planters made from pallet wood can be a quick, fun and affordable way of creating growing spaces.
If it is your first time growing, make it easy for yourself and buy seedlings from a trusted, local nursery rather than growing from seeds.
Select a warm, sunny and sheltered (from wind) spot in your garden as most of our vegies love 6-8 hours of sun per day.
Plant early in the morning (so they won’t wilt instantly), water in well and watch them grow.
Make sure to water and feed your plants throughout their growing time to get strong, healthy plants that produce the biggest, most delicious foods.

Questions?

If you have questions or would like to discuss anything further, please contact:

Lauren Darrah
021 870 792
communities@kaingaora.govt.nz

For more information about our proposed developments in New Plymouth, please visit https://kaingaora.govt.nz/taranaki.

View our New Plymouth developments on Social Pinpoint

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