Two new social housing projects at Wesley Rātā Village

Two new building projects at what is now known as Wesley Rātā Village will see the former hospital and the Strand rest home converted into 31 small apartments. The new apartments will take the total number of affordable rental homes at the village to 86. They include 30 independent-living villas that had been on the site for many years, as well as 25 new social houses that were completed in 2021.

Work on the $4.8m project to convert the hospital wing into 15 small apartments started in August last year and the apartment complex, which will be called Kowhai Court, is expected to be finished by July this year. The apartments will be made available to people on the social housing waiting list, with a particular focus on older people.

Work on the $7.8m project to convert the 50-bed Strand rest home into 16 apartments – to be called Pohutakawa Apartments – is scheduled to start in April. These apartments will be rented at a discounted rate to people who do not qualify for social housing but who cannot afford market rents.

Both building projects are being partly funded with grants from Grafton Downs, a charitable company within the Methodist Church.

Wesley Community Action provided aged residential care on the beautiful, 60-hectare site for more than 60 years before making the difficult decision to stop providing the service in 2017. However, as difficult as that decision was it also marked the start of a new chapter that has seen Wesleyhaven reborn as Wesley Rātā Village.  

This rebirth followed conversations with the local community about how to develop the site into a community asset while respecting its historical association with older people. Working together they came up with a vision to create a place that weaves community and enhances wellbeing.  

Almost eight years later that vision is well on the way to being achieved. As well as providing warm, dry, affordable rental homes for around 70 mostly older people (that number will increase to more than 100 once the apartments are built) the village has also become a hub for a range of community activities, all of which help create a sense of connection and belonging for residents. They include programmes for older people as well as activities for parents, babies and children, along with art classes and a monthly Koha Café. There’s also a community food garden and a recently established community composting scheme.

Wesley Community Action director David Hanna says it’s very satisfying to see the transformation taking place at the village.

“In 2017 we took a leap of faith and decided to shift our focus from institutional care to helping create a village of people wanting to live in their own place surrounded by opportunities to engage, contribute, and retreat. It’s very exciting to see that now happening.”