Having a strong set of guidelines is important when undertaking any project. These guidelines help to keep the purpose, the vision, in the front of minds as we immerse ourselves in the detailed and complex world of exploring development opportunities.
This is even more important when you’re undertaking a project for the benefit of a collective of owners and their uri, who will have diverse backgrounds and interests such as we are doing at Tumu Kaituna 14 Trust for our more than 5500 owners.
We all know how complicated things can get when you have to make decisions not just for yourself but also others. That is why we have designed a framework of guiding principles to keep us on track as we work towards developing our whenua.
While we know we must always retain ownership of our land, our challenge is also to find a way of generating sustainable income so that we can facillitate developments, work with regulatory authorities and our neighbouring landowners, and provide benefits to our owners and their whānau.
Our vision is that we want to develop an area of the land and put in place a range of short, medium and long term leases so we can retain ownership and still benefit from the whenua. We can then build, own, and lease out the buildings, whether they are used for housing or light industrial purposes. Some of our land (almost half) will be retained for ecological, environmental, archaeological and cultural purposes.
As you can appreciate, this will be a complex process so to keep us on track we have created a framework made up of seven guiding principles. This blog post will outline these principles and the underlying philosophies. The principles have been outlined at the hui to date and will continue to inform what we do in the future. We also created a survey which showed overwhelming support for the guiding principles..
Mātāpono 1: Hei whakawhanake i te whenua, kāore e hokona.
Principle 1: Developing the land without selling it
The first principle is that, in accordance with the Trust Deed and our owners’ wishes, retention of the land is non-negotiable. The whenua will never be sold.
However as part of the urbanisation and development of the land, the goal is to use the land to create sustainable income streams and so parts of it will be put into long term leases.
Land interests which are required for infrastructure (roads, utilities) to service the development and for Tumu Kaituna 14 houses, or for the Active Reserve (public spaces, sports fields etc) will require a transfer by way of easements or leases (not sale). To compensate for the transfer of those land interests, the Trust is proposing to negotiate with Council the acquisition of additional land to come into TK14 ownership (land that is surplus to Council requirements).
We are doing this to allow for infrastructure for development of our block and the urban growth areas surrounding Te Tumu. By doing this we will be able to create:
- Community infrastructure so that we can have parks and reserves
- Commercial and industrial areas to stimulate sustainable employment opportunities
- Residential housing for owners and the wider community to build and rent
- Primary and secondary schools, kura and puna reo to encourage education
Mātapono 2: Ka mau, ka mana te hītori me ngā tikanga.
Principle 2: Ensuring our history and cultural connection is represented and respected
Ensuring our significant history and cultural connection to the land is represented and respected within the development is vitally important to all of us. So we have included this principle to ensure we have the following initiatives:
- Protection of known historical and cultural sites within the block
- Appropriate naming of roads, streets, parks, cycleways and reserves that includes te reo Māori and recognises our history
- Give priority preference to our own people for employment, advisory, commercial and personal participation with our lands
Mātāpono 3: Ka hangaia he whare mō ngā uri.
Principle 3: Houses for our people
Being able to provide affordable housing for our beneficial owners and whānau is a key priority under this development. And while the development will include opportunities to build and rent for other members of the community, our goal is to see many of our own people in these homes.
As a result, we have started discussions with Crown Agency Kāinga Ora to explore opportunities for ownership and rentals under a partnership arrangement. The initatives to explore are:
- Build Own Operate Transfer Model – Kāinga Ora build, own and operate affordable rental properties that cater for beneficial owners and the wider community on leasehold land, which is returned after a period of up to 25 years.
- Build to Own Housing – This would likely be on a shared equity basis guaranteed by Kāinga Ora and the Tumu Kaituna 14 Trust, and provided for through the Progressive Home Ownership Fund.
- Community Housing – Establishing community housing development through a provider and our trust that would specifically cater to providing affordable rental accommodation for our owners and their whanau.
- Transitional housing for people without stable accommodation.
To enable us to explore these intiatives further, we are proposing to apply to the recently announced Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga initiative, which is a new Māori housing and infrastructure fund.
Mātāpono 4: Ka whakarite i ngā wāhi ā-hapori mō ngā uri.
Principle 4: Community spaces and places for beneficial owners
We know that building houses is not enough to ensure a successful development and that we also need places and spaces for other uses to ensure a thriving community. Therefore, we recognise we must provide owners and their whānau access to use and connect with the whenua. We are proposing the following initiatives:
- A holiday park and campground on the coast for priority use by our owners and their whānau, which is managed by the Trust (or Trust appointed persons).
- A cultural centre to show and highlight the substantive history and cultural aspects associated with the whenua.
- Boat storage adjacent to the Kaituna River for use by the owners and their whānau.
- Parks and reserves that will cater for a range of ages and abilities.
- Sports grounds and facilities for the whole community.
Mātāpono 5: Ka whakarite whāinga arumoni mō ngā uri.
Principle 5: Commercial opportunities for beneficial owners
In addition to the community facilities, we are also proposing to include land zoned for commercial activities because these will help provide the cashflow and livelihoods for the development of surrounding areas through a variety of trade-based and service industry uses.
We believe this will help create a range of opportunities for owners and their whānau to establish their own businesses and we are willing to support this in the form of subsidised land leases, low interest loans as well as business set up and mentoring assistance once we have established a secure financial base for the Trust.
Mātāpono 6: Ka whakarite whāinga mahi, mātauranga, pūkenga mō ngā uri.
Principle 6: Employment, education and training opportunities for beneficial owners
Building this development is going to take a huge commitment from all of us. We are looking to work and partner with trades and employment training providers to develop a wide range of paid skills to owners and their whānau. This will enable you to help to build this dream from the ground up and be rewarded along the way. Whether it is as a builder, plumber, landscaper – whatever role suits you, we are committed to helping you achieve your dreams so that you can help achieve our collective goal of using our whenua to support our whānau and our descendants.
As a result, our sixth principle is to ensure our owners and their whānau will have the benefits of employment opportunities throughout this development.
Mātāpono 7: Ka whai moniwhiwhi toitū mā ngā uri.
Principle 7: Creation of sustainable income for beneficial owners
The seventh and final principle underpins all of the others and that is: we are working to develop a sustainable income to help support our owners, your whānau and our descendants.
As stated in Principle 1 our vision is that we will always retain ownership of the land. But we will be able to use it in a way that derives sustainable income so that we can reinvest in these initiatives and the ongoing urban development of our whenua as well as other benefits to owners. This way the benefits of this land will be ensured for generations to come – mō tātou, ā, mō ngā uri, a muri ake nei
If you are interested in receiving more information or wish to share your thoughts about the development then please contact us here.
Whakaputaina Ōu Whakaaro
He uiui tēnei mā ngā uri o Te Tumu Kaituna 14.
Koinei te huarahi e mōhio ai ngā Kaitiaki ki ō koutou whakaaro mō ngā take nunui, ā, hei reira whakariterite ai i ngā whāinga mo te whenua, mā tātou hoki ngā uri.
He mea nui ki a mātou ō koutou whakaaro kia pai ai ā mātou mahi whakahaere, whakawhanake.
Ka nui ngā mihi.