HUD partnership with Hutt City Council wins award
Published 12 Jun 23
A partnership between HUD and Hutt City Council (HCC), Kahungunu Whānau Services and Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa has won the LGFA Martin Jenkins Award for Collaborative Government Action.
The award is part of the New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency (LGFA)’s Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards and was for our partnership with HCC on a housing programme which has homed 19 whānau in purpose-built environmentally friendly homes.
The awards are for programmes, projects, and approaches that demonstrate professional excellence in local government management. Overall, a total of 43 entries were submitted, covering economic development, housing, infrastructure management and funding, sediment reduction in a coastal environment, and planning for growth.
Takai Here Tāngata and HUD partnership
The Takai Here Tāngata initiative led by HCC, Kahungunu Whānau Services, Te Rānanganui o Te Āti Awa and Urban Plus Limited (UPL) has the goal of putting more people into permanent housing. Together they have built a village called Takai Here Tāngata (‘the binding of people together’), situated on Te Ara o Takapā in Taitā, Lower Hutt.
The homes were designed and built by UPL and were purchased via funding from HUD through the Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga and MAIHI programmes.
DCE Tumuaki, Te Kāhui Māori Housing Kararaina Calcott-Cribb said, “This recognition is a culmination of our strong partnerships forged with Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa and Kahungunu Whānau Services, a Māori Community Housing Provider located in Wellington, to support them to deliver warm and dry homes for their communities.
“In the past Māori have not been central to addressing the growing housing crisis and that’s where our MAIHI approach and principles have been established to bridge that gap. This is one example of MAIHI in action – where we are co-designing place-based solutions with Māori, accelerating affordable housing and home ownership through Māori-led community-based housing projects like Takai Here Tāngata.”
The vision for the village was provided by Te Āti Awa Rangatira, Kura Moeahu: "He Herenga Kura, He Herenga Tāngata, He Herenga Whenua - A sacred connection that unites the people and binds us to the land."
Takai Here Tāngata signifies how collaboration and partnership can create new pathways and practices to enable healthy, thriving, secure, and affordable homes to be built across Lower Hutt.