Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty District Council will hold a joint meeting on 6 August to to consider the Head Start proposal for future governance in the WBOP sub-region.
This proposal is part of a coordinated response from local councils across the wider Bay of Plenty to the Government's Simplifying Local Government reform programme, which signals a move towards fewer, larger councils and changes to how regional and local council responsibilities are delivered in the future. Councils that wish to put forward their own proposal for how local government could be reorganised have until 9 August 2026 to do so.
Recent community feedback across both councils showed residents were open to exploring reform, but clear expectations emerged around what any future arrangement would need to achieve. These included maintaining strong local voice and representation, addressing concerns around taking on the debt of other councils, affordability and fairness between communities, while also delivering simpler decision-making, stronger infrastructure planning, efficient service delivery and better value for ratepayers. What came through strongly was a preference for this to be led locally, rather than waiting for Government to do it to us.
A draft Head Start outline proposal for a sub-regional unitary authority has since been jointly developed between Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Tauranga City Council. The proposal would create a new council covering the combined Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty areas and bring together many of the functions currently delivered by the two councils and Bay of Plenty Regional Council within this area.
If both councils approve the proposal, it must be lodged with central government by 9 August 2026 for consideration. If a proposal is not submitted by that date, the process will move to the 'Backstop' pathway, under which central government will determine the future governance arrangements for the region at a later date.
The joint Council meeting will be held at Western Bay of Plenty District Council Chambers from 9.30am, Thursday 6 August.
A link to the council agenda paper can be found here - Supplementary Reports Agenda of Council - Thursday, 6 August 2026
The joint meeting will be livestreamed on Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s YouTube channel