As you will be aware, the City Council has long had a strong commitment to housing our most vulnerable residents and we are delighted to partner with the Otautahi Community Housing Trust on this exciting project.
Developments like this are a partnership and would not be possible without the involvement of the Government, the Trust, and the Council. We thank the Minister and Government for the funding that allows the development to be financially sustainable.
Since 2016 Council has been capitalising the Trust through transfer of land and other assets and we thank the Trust for its vision of returning housing for our most disadvantaged to this site.
The Council has also provided a $30 million development loan to the Trust to facilitate the development of new social housing at this and other sites.
Our partnership, and the support of the Government, means that the loan can be made at no cost to ratepayers.
This development is a wonderful investment for our community and will make a significant contribution to increasing the amount of social housing in our city.
The Council is committed to continuing to work with the Government and community housing providers such as the Otautahi Community Housing Trust to increase the supply of social housing in Christchurch. We know that improving public housing is a priority of this Government, and Christchurch is ready, willing and able to work with it to deliver results.
Minister, Christchurch has the need for additional public housing. The Council has land where this can be built, and we have demonstrated our willingness to facilitate developments by community housing providers. We look forward to working with you, the Ministry and the Trust on this.