6 July 2011

Work on the first flats at Helensburgh Road (Dunedin) has been completed and tenants (including Pact clients) will start moving in later this month.

The one-bedroom flats were bought by the Ladder Trust, which was established in response to the need for social housing. The trust is a sister trust to Pact.

Pact and Ladder Trust CEO Louise Carr says the trust has three trustees in common with Pact (Tom Trotter, Bill Dunbar and John Henderson). It also has a fourth trustee, Steve Rogers, who is a partner at Rogers Law in Dunedin.

Louise says it is just a fledging trust and as such, has no paid employees but Louise is the CEO of the trust and Pact’s director of corporate services Paul Chamberlain is the secretary. Pact social housing and enterprise development manager Ferdi Koen has been seconded as the social housing manager for the trust and will oversee maintenance work and the tenancies.

Eventually the trust will become self-sustaining and will make the most of the government’s new initiatives in housing. The government launched a Social Housing Unit (part of the Department of Building and Housing) this month, which will work with private enterprise, NGOs, and iwi to provide decent, affordable housing.

Louise says the government has also signalled it is look for separation between organisations that provide support services and landlords.

"So we’re following the right trend," Louise says.

She says the trust has a commitment to social housing and there is an ongoing demand in Dunedin for one-bedroom flats.

"Fifty percent of the Helensburgh Road flats will be for Pact and the others will be for people from other parts of the community who need support with their housing," says Louise.

Once the trust is more established it will look at other developments.

Louise says Helensburgh Road is the perfect setting given its layout.

"It’s set in a pleasant garden area so people can enjoy their environment. It also has a community lounge and we’re hoping will be a gathering point for people to get to know each other and mix and mingle."

Events like housie nights, DVD nights, book groups or shared pot luck dinners are all possibilities depending on what tenants would like to do.

The flats have been extensively refurbished. They have been insulated, sound-proofed and painted. They have new carpet, and new drapes and double glazing are next. Baths have been replaced with showers and the cupboards above the breakfast bar have been moved to the wall to open the living area up and provide a usable dining space.