sufficient housing development capacity for the next 30 years. However, this may not be accurate as land supply continues to dwindle in the region.
According to Geoff Mockett, the managing director of construction company Signature Homes Taranaki, increasing demand for residential housing land in the area was not only pushing prices up but also out of reach of those who are looking to make the dream of building their own home a reality. “At the moment there is an extreme shortage of titled land in the New Plymouth district,” he said, pointing to sections in Bell Block where lack of supply has caused prices to increase by a whopping 80 per cent. “I can’t see it improving in the next 12 months,” he noted.
This was despite the Housing Capacity Assessment which claimed New Plymouth district had sufficient housing development capacity for the next three decades. However, 35.5 per cent of this capacity is related to undeveloped residential land, while another New Plymouth district had sufficient housing development capacity is linked to suburban infill sections within existing residential areas.
During last week’s meeting of the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) strategy and operations committee, people councillor Dave Bublitz questioned the accuracy of the information in the report. He told that having spoken to large building companies, he was made aware of the lack of land supply since what was available was running out.
Responding to his comments, NPDC planning manager Juliet Johnson noted that while the report had a significant focus on metrics, it was also mindful of what was happening on the ground. She went on to recognise the need to work through the processes to get the land released as one of the critical challenges. However, she underscored the role of the NPDC is working alongside developers in order to tackle these challenges in order to getting land ready for housing development.
