Crucial infrastructure improvements to cater for growth in Te Kauwhata will go ahead after Waikato District Council received confirmation from the Government of $38 million through its Housing Infrastructure Fund.
The interest-free loan of $38 million, combined with $34.2 million from Council’s Long Term Plan, will be used to accelerate infrastructure projects to support the development of residential units in the town.
A new wastewater treatment plant with the latest membrane bioreactor technology will be built, along with associated pipes so that wastewater can be discharged on to land near the Waikato River, subject to resource consent, instead of into Lake Waikare.
There will also be extensive upgrades to the town’s water supply infrastructure and some local road upgrades.
These upgrades are designed to bring forward the construction of 1,190 houses by three to five years earlier than scheduled in Council’s Long Term Plan.
These 1,190 dwellings are already planned within the Te Kauwhata Structure Plan, however the infrastructure upgrades will allow for these dwellings to be delivered earlier.
The improved infrastructure will also facilitate an additional 1,600 households within the Lakeside Residential Development in the next 10 years.
Te Kauwhata is recognised as a key part of a growth area in the North Waikato/South Auckland sub region.
The population of the town is projected to grow from 1,770 to 10,898 by 2045.
Waikato District Council Mayor Allan Sanson said that without the Government’s support through this HIF interest-free loan, Council would have struggled to cater for this rate of growth.
“There are significant infrastructure constraints in wastewater, water supply, and roading in Te Kauwhata,” he said.
“There is very limited capacity in Te Kauwhata’s reticulated water treatment plant and its wastewater treatment plant to serve any residential development beyond that which is planned for through the Te Kauwhata Structure Plan.
“The HIF funding enables us to provide the long-term infrastructure solutions required to enable earlier and greater provision of households in a key growth area in the north Waikato.”
Waikato District Council Chief Executive Gavin Ion paid tribute to the Council’s project team who put together the Detailed Business Case over the past year that secured the HIF funding.
“This announcement is the culmination of a year’s hard work from various teams within Council,” he said.
“It’s also been a hugely collaborative process with the local community, Councillors, developers, iwi, consultants and other organisations to name a few.”
“We’re now looking forward to tackling the implementation stages of the project.
“Our plans for Te Kauwhata form an important part of our district-wide vision of creating liveable, thriving and connected communities.”
Now that the HIF agreement is in place, consenting and detail design of tender ready documents will start.
Council will repay the HIF loan via development contributions and maintain infrastructure through rates generated from the housing provided by the Lakeside Development and other Te Kauwhata structure plan development and where required district wide rating growth.
For more information please contact:
John Brown
Senior Communications Advisor
Waikato District Council
027 889 3084
communications@waidc.govt.nz
