Letter To Christchurch City Council
9 March 2022
The Mayor and Councillors
Christchurch City Council
Kia ora koutou,
Sale of 86a Beachville Road Redcliffs
At a time when the Salvation Army tells us we have a “housing catastrophe” it is barely believable that former council-owned land at 86a Beachville Road in Redcliffs is being sold by the Otautahi Community Housing Trust.
This is wrong headed at every level and we would like the council to insist that
We understand the reason the property is being sold is because there is “no demand” for public housing in Redcliffs and therefore the land can be sold and the money used to build houses in lower-income areas of Christchurch.
This is appalling reasoning. It is not accurate nor helpful and it is deeply prejudiced. There is the need for public rental housing in every suburb of Christchurch if we are to avoid the ghettoisation of public rental housing in the city.
We need affordable housing for the elderly and infirm, for tenants and families on low incomes and for those putting their lives back together. It must be a shared community effort without expecting low income communities already struggling to do the heavy lifting for the citizens of Redcliffs and other higher-income suburbs.
There is time to have this property withdraw from the market and we expect the council to do the right thing for all of Christchurch.
We hope to hear from you shortly.
Ngā mihi.
Na,
John Minto
Convenor
State House Action Network
0220850161
