New "villages" are likely to be sprouting up in and around Christchurch as the Department of Building and Housing tackles the task of housing displaced Christchurch residents.
A document obtained by the Otago Daily Times suggests between 5000 and 10,000 temporary accommodation units are needed urgently in Christchurch to cope with the damage from the September 4 earthquake and the February 22 aftershock.
The villages will comprise temporary accommodation on an "allotment" of 200sq m. Each allotment is to have a small enclosed rear area containing an area suitable for children to play in and containing a clothesline.
The site is to be laid out in a manner which helps ease safety of traffic and pedestrian flows, minimising undue noise and disruption to residents.
Each of the villages, or sites, must provide office space and storage space for maintenance and office equipment.
There is also an option for communal laundry facilities - washing machines and driers - either free or pay. A combined meeting and amenity building for up to 30 people must be included.
The department has already identified suitable sites for the new villages but the problem appears to be getting enough accommodation units built sufficiently quickly.
Suburban parks in Christchurch had been identified as possible village sites, the ODT was told.
The department is handling stage 2 and stage 3 of the housing crisis. Stage 1 is the immediate emergency response being handled through the quake helpline, welfare centres and offers of accommodation from the public.
Stage 2 relates to the "imminent" need expected to emerge from those with damaged homes needing accommodation support over the short to medium term while houses that could be repaired were made habitable, basic infrastructure systems were repaired and alternative medium- to long-term temporary housing became available for those with more serious damage.
Stage 3 related to medium- and long-term temporary housing (six months to three or more years) while a major repair or rebuild was undertaken.
Accommodation requirements for workers moving to Christchurch for the repair and rebuild were being discussed with the building sector.
The department had identified in the document the need for imminent accommodation for a section of Christchurch residents.
These included residents of houses not liveable because of damage, lack of water, power or sewerage; people living in welfare centres; people staying with friends where that was not sustainable over longer periods and those who had left Christchurch temporarily but would be returning.
"Demand profile at this stage is unknown but the planning scenario is up to 5000 units, scalable to 10,000. Because the situation is very fluid, these numbers will be firmed up, as will the configurations of the temporary accommodation units required."
The principles of the approach in stage 2 was to assist and support people to "self-help" where they were able and to keep people in their communities where possible - at home or close to home.
People could make their own decisions, managing their circumstances where possible.
The department said it had identified several sites in Christchurch that might be suitable for temporary accommodation.
The identified village sites had a flat grassy surface with trees along the boundary and no signs of liquefaction.
Vehicle access to sites was good. Several sites had multiple access points, were on or near main arterial routes and would have sewerage, power and water.
Security of village areas would vary. Some sites were already fenced.
Sites had been specifically proposed near amenities such as health services, shopping facilities, public transport and recreational areas.
The list of requirements specified by the department are very detailed. At the end of the need for the temporary village site, all installed assets are to be removed and the site reinstated to its original condition.
The units would be built to various configurations of family units of one to six people, be transportable or be built quickly on-site from modular or prefabricated components.
They must be stand-alone single storey units.
There is another component to the department's requirements - providing homeowner-specified temporary accommodation.
The three options are:
• Self-contained accommodation units including kitchen, bathroom, laundry, bedroom or bedrooms and living space.
• Sleeping-only accommodation units.
• Facilities-only building units such as a bathroom, laundry and/or kitchen facilities.
Builders spoken to by the ODT said the specified accommodation was to help homeowners who were still living in their own houses but had received damage to just part of the property.
If the kitchen was damaged, an "outhouse" kitchen would be provided. The same would apply if the laundry or bedrooms had been damaged. These would be replaced with temporary outhouses.
Requirements
- Stage 1: immediate temporary accommodation now.
- Stage 2: imminent temporary accommodation - one month to 12 months.
- Stage 3: temporary accommodation - six months to three or more years.
