Wellington Airport expansion plan would displace social housing tenants in Miramar

Thursday, 25 January 2018

The blue and orange council flats in Calabar Rd, Miramar, are wanted by Wellington Airport so it can potentially widen its taxiway. The flats are currently home to about 30 social housing tenants.

More Wellington social tenants could be displaced as the airport forges ahead with expansion plans.

Wellington Airport has already bought parts of Bridge St, west of its runway, and now wants to acquire properties on Calabar Rd, along the eastern side, including nine social housing units owned by Wellington City Council, which are home to 30 residents.

Calabar Rd looking south, with the airport runway on the right.

Airport head planner Mike Brown said its current site in Rongotai was extremely small for an airport with six million passengers that was experiencing significant growth.

'We must use our space efficiently and to its full potential.'

The airport has also made offers to buy eight private properties, extending south from No 64 Calabar Rd, left. So far, only three owners have accepted.

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Wellington Airport is experiencing significant growth and its planners says it needs to use space efﬁciently and to its full potential.

In 2010, the airport published its Master Plan for 2030, which outlined essential planning requirements needed to meet passenger growth and future capacity demands.

This included a possible need to widen the taxiway, which runs parallel to Calabar Rd, meaning a 'realignment' of the road will be required

Councillor Brian Dawson, who holds the social development portfolio, said councillors had not agreed to a sale. However, if it went ahead, all tenants would be rehoused.

The master plan sets out 2020 as the approximate timing for this work, but Brown said there was no fixed timeline.

In addition to the Wellington City Council offer, the airport presented open offers to buy eight private properties, extending south from 64 Calabar Road. At present, only three owners have accepted.

Many homes in Bridge St, on the Rongotai side of the airport, have been removed to make room for expansion.

All impacted property owners, including the council, were notified in 2009 and presented with an open offer in 2010 for Wellington Airport to buy their properties at market value should they wish to sell, Brown said.

'Under the 2030 Master Plan we extended the open offer to purchase an additional thirteen properties of which we have purchased five.'

The empty space landbanked by Wellington Airport on Bridge St. Calabar Rd looks set to face the same fate.

A price for the council's properties had been agreed, which was subject to retaining any existing tenancy agreements.

The airport was waiting on confirmation from councillors, Brown said.

Councillors will see the proposal at a city strategy committee meeting in March, but councillor Brian Dawson, who holds the social development portfolio, said nothing had been agreed and his gut feeling was not to sell in the current 'housing crisis' market.

The conversation started before the current housing challenge and, if a price was agreed, it was with officers and not councillors.

'They [airport] have not mentioned acquisition under the Public Works Act, which means they can only buy if we agree to sell at this stage.'

The council's social houses on Calabar Rd were not in great condition and needed work, so he would be having a conversation with the airport about timing to ensure money was not wasted on upgrades if the homes were to be demolished.

His 'suspicion' was that the airport would landbank the properties and become a landlord until the land was needed. There was the possibility it might leave the council to manage the properties after they were sold.

If the council sold the properties, the tenants would be rehoused, he said.

'There is no way we are chucking people on to the streets. I will ensure that, if sold, every cent will go back into city housing. That would have to be a caveat.'

Rongotai MP Paul Eagle did not believe land in his electorate should be sold when it could be used for housing.

Land was a scarce resource, and housing was a big issue.

'The city should not be selling any land, and it should be utilising it for community housing. All publicly owned land should be retained for homes.

'The airport could be decades away from needing the land, and I don't want to see a rugby field-sized area landbanked, like we did with Bridge St.'

Council spokesman Sean Gillespie said the council had just started discussions with its tenants to advise them of the proposed sale.