The Mangere Development is being rolled out in stages over the next 10-15 years, beginning with Stage 1a which kicked off earlier this year. On Thursday 13 September, the night owls of the neighbourhood may have bore witness to the swift removal of two state houses on Bader Drive. These are the first whole houses to be recycled as part of the development initiative.

Housing New Zealand’s Tenancy Liaison Team has been working with the previous tenants prior to the relocation, and they have been successfully rehomed.

The removal is part of the Stage 1a of the development, which involves removing 35 existing 1960s-built state houses on Bader Drive, McKenzie Road and Cessna Place. These houses will be replaced with 66 new state houses and around 100 affordable and market homes.

The recent removal reflects HLC’s commitment to reducing waste over the course of the development. Where possible, old state houses are relocated rather than demolished. This provides the house with a second life, which translates into a second home for a new family or to serve a new purpose.

Of course, not all houses in the vicinity can be relocated, and not all materials can be recycled. This is for a range of reasons, including the presence of asbestos, where materials are in a state of disrepair, or the suitability of the house. The team at HLC work hard across all of their developments to find sustainable, ongoing solutions to managing non-recyclable materials.