24 August 2022
Stefan Brown
[FYI request #20046 email]
Dear Mr Brown
Thank you for your email of 28 July 2022 to Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities via the
FYI website requesting the following information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act):
I am seeking a copy of the email or letter sent to Upper Hutt City Council and or the
proprietors of Silverstream Forest regarding the declining of their Request for
proposal for Infrastructure Acceleration Fund finance.
In particular I am looking for the reasons and any documentation related to the
reasons for the rejections and how this relates to the criteria that the application was
assessed under.
I have consulted with the relevant staff regarding your request and following this discussion,
we identified and have included with this response, two emails that were sent to the Upper
Hutt City Council (UHCC) in May 2022. These emails advised the UHCC that their
Silversteam Forest proposal was not among the 35 proposals announced as proceeding to
the negotiation stage of the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund. Please note that for privacy,
mobile phone numbers and emails of third parties have been withheld under section 9(2)(a)
of the Act.
In addition to assessing all proposals against the four previously provided criteria (housing
outcomes, impact of funding, cost and co-funding, capability and readiness), Kāinga Ora can
further advise you that the Silverstream Forest proposal was not selected as:
there was a large number of good quality proposals received
regional spread had to be considered when recommending the 35 proposals that
progressed to the negotiation stage
there is a limited amount of funding available through the IAF.
Regarding your request for documentation related to the reasons for not selecting the
Silverstream Forest proposal, this has not been made public as it is based on information
provided to Kāinga Ora by the UHCC with an obligation of confidence. I am therefore
withholding this information under section 9(2)(ba)(i) of the Act to,
‘protect information which
is subject to an obligation of confidence...’
For more information about the IAF first tranche announcement and other links about the
IAF, I encourage you to visit
https://kaingaora.govt.nz/news/over-8000-new-homes-possible-
as-179m-of-infrastructure-fund-committed/.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this response.
Information about how to make a complaint is available online at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phone on 0800 802 602.
Please note that Kāinga Ora proactively releases our responses to official information
requests where possible. Our response to your request may be published
at https://kainga
ora.govt.nz/publications/official-information-requests/ with your personal information
removed.
Yours sincerely
Rachel Kelly
Manager Government Relations
From: IAF <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 2 May 2022 6:00 PM
s 9(2)(a)
Subject: IAF RFP Outcome Notification
Kia ora Geoff,
Infrastructure Acceleration Fund – RFP Outcome Notification Kāinga Ora refers to the Request for Proposals (RFP) released on 15 October 2021 and would like to
thank Upper Hutt City Council for the time and effort put into submitting the following Proposal:
1. Silverstream Forest
2. St Patricks Estate Ltd
3. Cannon Point Development
The evaluation of Proposals has now been completed in accordance with the eligibility and
evaluation criteria set out in the RFP and recommendations have been made to Ministers as to
which Proposals should progress to the Negotiation Stage.
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Kāinga Ora regrets to advise that these Proposals have not been selected to progress to the
Negotiation Stage. We acknowledge that a considerable amount of work has been put into preparing
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your RFP responses and appreciate this is not the outcome hoped for.
The IAF Project Team would be happy to provide a debrief if required. This can be requested by
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email to
[email address]. Ngā mihi,
Andrew Brown (pronouns he/him)
Project Director
Infrastructure Acceleration Fund
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Email:
[email address]
Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities
New Zealand Government |
www.kaingaora.govt.nz
From: IAF <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 3 May 2022 12:21 PM
s 9(2)(a)
Subject: RE: IAF RFP Outcome Notification
Kia ora,
As per my letter yesterday, I attach the high-level announcement from Kāinga Ora regarding
the next stage of the IAF process. This has now been sent to interested media and is posted
on the Kāinga Ora news page here:
https://kaingaora.govt.nz/news/thirty-five-housing-
developments-in-last-stage-of-infrastructure-fund/.
Please note that Kāinga Ora will not be providing comments to the media on individual
applications, nor providing other information that may affect the Negotiation Stage.
If you have any further questions regarding external communications for the IAF, feel free to
contact Rebecca Huang, Kāinga Ora Communication Manager – Urban Development &
Construction, on [email address] s 9(2)(a)
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Ngā mihi,
Andrew
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Andrew Brown (pronouns he/him)
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Project Director
Infrastructure Acceleration Fund
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Email:
[email address]
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Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities
New Zealand Government |
www.kaingaora.govt.nz
MEDIA RELEASE
03 MAY 2021
THIRTY-FIVE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IN FINAL STAGE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING
A wide range of proposals for much-needed housing developments around the country are through
to the final stage of the bid for funding from the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF).
The IAF, administered by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, is a contestable fund designed to
help councils fund infrastructure to enable housing development in areas of need. The fund of
approximately $1 billion w
as launched in June 2021 and has received a great response from councils,
iwi and developers across Aotearoa.
Following a robust process to evaluate both initial expressions of interest and full responses to
request for proposals, 35 proposals have now been invited to enter the final stage of the IAF
process. This stage will see further due diligence undertaken and both funding and housing outcome
agreements negotiated before funding can be confirmed.
Kāinga Ora GM Commercial Group, Caroline McDowall says although final negotiations are to be
completed, indications from the applications are that this funding could unlock crucial housing of
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anywhere from 25,000 to 35,000 dwellings.
“This next stage ensures all parties are paying their fair share, and agrees conditions and
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development milestones,” she says.
“The due diligence and negotiations involved in this part of the process are important for forming
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the IAF agreements, which in turn sets out how and when the developments will receive IAF
funding.”
From the applications to be negotiated, there are 14 proposals for developments in New Zealand’s
major urban cities (Tier 1*), with the remaining 21 in other areas throughout the country. Almost
one third (11) of the applications going forward to the next stage are proposals that are co-led with
Māori or have Māori as key partners.
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“The strong interest we have seen in the IAF highlights how housing development can be stalled by a
need to upgrade, replace or build key infrastructure,” says Caroline McDowall.
“The IAF is designed to help developments overcome this initial barrier by assisting councils with
funding, and our team is confident the funding will help advance the delivery of a significant number
of homes in areas with great housing need.
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“We have already had one proposal fast-tracked through this process, resulting in funding that will
enable an additional 400-odd homes at Kenepuru Landing in Porirua, including essential public and
affordable housing.
“We look forward to announcing further successful agreements from July onwards,” she says.
“Of course, the negotiated IAF agreements will just be the start of this journey for these
developments, however this funding will help to bring tens of thousands more homes to New
Zealanders.”
Read more about the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund:
www.kaingaora.govt.nz/iaf
- ENDS –
Media contact:
[email address]
Editor’s notes:
• The Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF) is part of the Government’s $3.8 billion Housing
Acceleration Fund announced in March 2021.
• The IAF was open to territorial authorities, developers and iwi to apply for councils to be
funded for transport, three waters or flood-management projects needed to service the
development of new or additional housing in the short to medium term.
• Over 200 initial expressions of interest were received in the initial stage of the IAF, with over
$5 billion requested from the approximately $1 billion fund.
• Of the approximately 200 initial expressions of interest, applicants of 86 proposals were
invited to submit a response to request for proposal in December 2021.
• All applications have been subject to robust evaluation, led by Kāinga Ora and involving
input from other Government agencies, with final decisions made by the Ministers of
Housing and Finance.
• Funding and housing outcome negotiations will ensure all parties are paying their fair share,
with agreement on conditions and development milestones to secure funding.
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* The Government’s National Policy Statement on Urban Development refers to Tier 1, 2 and 3
urban environments, informed by population size and growth rates. These tiers are:
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o Tier 1: Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, and Christchurch
o Tier 2: Whangārei, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Napier Hastings, Palmerston North,
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Nelson Tasman, Queenstown and Dunedin
o Tier 3: All other urban environments that are not in tier 1 or 2
Please note: due to the ongoing contestable and commercially sensitive process of the IAF, Kāinga
Ora is unable to share any information on individual proposals, or any information that may affect
the negotiation process. Applicants may choose to comment on their individual proposals as they
see fit.
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