9 Jul 2018
Special housing areas - have they worked?
Special housing areas were meant to increase the affordability of homes by "streamlining the planning and consent process". The then Labour opposition derided the legislation, saying it was used by speculators and developers to get rich. But now it's in government, Labour is curiously silent on the possibility of scrapping them. So have they worked? Our Otago-Southland reporter Timothy Brown takes a look at Queenstown Lakes, the country's least affordable area and home to several special housing areas.