The Forest and Bird Hauraki Islands branch is looking to use its newly renovated cottage at Onetangi Reserve as an affordable rental property.
Branch spokeswoman Shirin Brown says with so many people struggling to find long-term accommodation on Waiheke, they wanted to do their part to ease the strain. The two-bedroom cottage will be rented out on a yearly basis, with the idea of it acting as transitional housing for small families while they look for a suitable home. Shirin says they’re teaming up with Waiheke Community Housing Trust to find tenants who will need it the most.
The old cottage was built some time around the 1950s, and has been with Forest and Bird for almost that long. “No-one has any memory of how the cottage came to Forest and Bird or who the owners were. We’d love to hear from anyone with any stories about that,” Shirin says. • Paul Mitchell
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
