17 August 2021
Media: Newstalk ZB
Topic: Emergency housing
Enquiry
I'm helping set up Heather du Plessis-Allan's drive show this afternoon and we're planning on covering a story about emergency housing in Fenton Street.
Basically a local residents' group say Kainga Ora are wanting to buy a motel on Fenton Street and use it for emergency housing. They say Kainga Ora has applied for a resource consent to allow people to stay there for longer than 28 days (apparently 28 days is the limit in the district plan). They say the Council hasn't notified the public about the consent application, but they heard about it from someone applying for a LIM report and thus hearing about all the nearby resource consents.
Naturally I'm keen to get the Council's response. If anyone is available to speak to Heather about the issue we could have them on at 5.35pm this afternoon right after we talk to the residents' group? Or if you could otherwise let me know if Kainga Ora is currently applying for a Resource Consent that would allow them to house emergency guests in motels for longer than 28 days, in Fenton Street or anywhere else? And if so, why the public hasn't been notified?
Response
We don’t have anyone available for an interview at that time this afternoon.
We did provide some information on the same topic to another media outlet yesterday. Please see that information below. Please note the consent is currently going through a statutory process so we cannot go into specifics about it.
The suggestion that Council is not following the legislative process for this application is absolutely incorrect.
Whether a consent is notified or not is always a consideration for the processing planner. This consent is currently being processed and no decisions, including whether it will be notifiable, have been made as yet. We expect that the decision around notification is likely to be made within the next three to four weeks.
Rotorua District Plan allows, through the resource consent process, for motels on Fenton Street to be converted to housing.
In assessing any consent, planners consider the level of effects of the new activity against the District Plan and the Resource Management Act and whether it would be significant enough to require notifying neighbours and/or the wider community.