Waimakariri District Council is helping with a new initiative to provide housing for those in need. File photo. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
A social housing initiative, described as ''like flatting for older people'', is a step closer to becoming a reality in North Canterbury.
The Waimakariri District Council agreed to enter into an agreement to support and provide land for an Abbeyfields house to be built in Rangiora, at a meeting on Tuesday.
An Abbeyfields house offers supported housing for single older people of limited means.
Addressing the council meeting, Abbeyfield Waimakariri Incorporated chairperson Valda Reveley said it was "like flatting for older people".
She said granting the lease will allow her organisation to get on with raising the funds it needs to build the house.
"It will be a one-storey house and from the road it will look like the surrounding houses - only bigger.
"We call it a house, but it will be a home for those who don't have many options."
The concept is a large house with 12 to 14 studio units, a shared living room, dining room, laundry and often gardens.
Residents can share meals together and connect with each other.
The trust will employ a housekeeper and a cook to prepare the meals, but it will otherwise be run by volunteers.
The Waimakariri District Council is backing an initiative to build an Abbeyfields house in Rangiora. Photo: David Hill / North Canterbury News
Deputy Mayor Neville Atkinson, the council's housing portfolio holder, said entering into the agreement is "a huge step forward".
"We have been told about the needs of social housing many times and we have a role to play in looking after those in need in our community and by enabling people to look after social housing."
Atkinson said he and Mayor Dan Gordon had visited the Abbeyfields house in Hornby, Christchurch, and were impressed with what they saw.
Gordon said the council should support social housing initiatives such as Abbeyfields and a recent initiative to provide shared housing for women.
"Why wouldn't we be looking after people in our community at a time in their life when they most need it?
"Not everyone can afford to go to a Ryman or another model."
Councillor Niki Mealings said the council already provides older person's housing, and by working in partnership with Abbeyfields, it can provide housing "with no additional cost to ratepayers".
Cr Tim Fulton said the partnership is an example of the council enabling people to do "what they do best".
The council has been working with the community to support the establishment of an Abbeyfields house in Waimakariri for the past four years, as part of its efforts to address housing shortages in the district.
Under the agreement, the council will enter into a 33-year lease with Abbeyfield Waimakariri Incorporated to lease a site in Kingsbury Avenue, Rangiora.
* LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
