Hutt housing at risk, despite a 15.9% rate increase

Thursday, 7 December 2023

Hutt City residents face a 15.9% rate increase, as the council notes the city’s dodgy water infrastructure is a threat to future housing plans.

Wellington Water recently wrote to councils noting the need to spend $30 billion a year to bring the region’s crumbling water network up to scratch.

Not doing so, Wellington Water warned, would pose a threat to future economic growth, with some councils forced to stop new builds.

A projected 10% increase in population of 11,817 between 2023 and 2033 would require an extra 4100 houses in the city.

As councils across the region struggle with huge rate increases, Hutt’s draft long term plan notes that the population growth would place infrastructure under further pressure.

The plan states the council had to “operate with fiscal prudence” and cannot commit to all the infrastructure improvements required over the next decade.

There was an “unavoidable risk” that the council would not be able to provide the infrastructure required for new housing.

Even if it could fund all the infrastructure needed for new housing, the council acknowledged the workforce required to do the work does not exist.

Comments from residents, in initial consultation on the plan, also questioned the feasibility of building more houses.

“We've had decades of underinvestment in infrastructure both through national and local government, we have a deficit to address before we even start planning for our rapid population growth in the future,” one resident said.

New Minister of Infrastructure and Hutt resident Chris Bishop campaigned for a second road into Wainuiomata and the Cross Valley Link, to open up greenfield areas behind Wainuiomata. The council has no money in its plan to build the necessary infrastructure and had previously been turned down for central government funding, with the cost of piping wastewater over the Wainuiomata Hill deemed prohibitive.

Financial documents in the council’s plan show the council is spending $1.7b on growth over the next 30 years, of which only 18% is funded from development contributions.

The council is budgeting $407m annually for the next 10 years but in terms of infrastructure, it is still falling a long way short of the amount required to cover growth and repair broken pipes.

Initial consultation found that 89% of respondents to a survey “agreed or strongly agreed” that “providing infrastructure that is fit for the future” should be the key area of focus for the council.

A survey of resident satisfaction showed there was significant concern about the quality of existing infrastructure, particularly relating to water.

'The constant water issues in our area have significantly reduced quality of life. The harbour is frequently unclean to swim in and water pipes have regularly burst in the streets,” one respondent said.

The draft plan noted that climate change would also have a major impact on infrastructure.

“Sea-level rise may also compromise the ability of the stormwater network to drain effectively and further exacerbate the impact of flooding, resulting in some of the city’s key infrastructure, particularly the Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant, facing being inundated.“

A 15.9% rate increase equates to an increase of $514 per annum, or $9.89 per week, for an average residential property valued at $815,000.

Investment in Three Waters makes up 40% - $208 - of the average $514 per annum rise. The draft long term plan includes rate increases of more than 11% until 2030 with council debt exceeding $1b in 2030.

– Hutt City councillors meet to discuss the draft plan on Tuesday December 12 at 10.30am.