From Friday, 23 February, Tauranga City Council staff currently residing in the building at 2 Devonport Road will begin to fill the vacant offices at 306 Cameron Road.
The move will involve around 400 people moving to the office building at 306 Cameron Road for the next few years. The move will happen progressively over three weeks.
Main public services and Council Chambers will remain at Willow Street, and our staff will continue to work between our Willow Street, Spring Street and Cameron Road offices.
The main driver behind the move is to support a major private redevelopment of the site at 2 Devonport Road. Council Chief Executive Garry Poole says, “Council is committed to supporting initiatives that will contribute to creating a vibrant, safe and successful city centre. We agreed to end our lease of Devonport Road early to make way for this exciting new development.
"New developments will bring more people and high-value businesses to the city centre, helping to achieve council's aspiration to become an internationally competitive city, creating a higher standard of living for all."
As part of the relocation planning, council staff have been developing a travel plan to encourage all staff to consider alternative means of transport to work. Transportation manager Martin Parkes says the plan encourages people to cycle, motorbike, car pool, use public transport, or walk/run if possible.
Martin says, “We’re a large organisation and we need to lead the way in our individual travel habits. Every person on a bike, e-bike, or bus represents a tangible savings in car parks and it helps relieve the traffic flow.”
Tauranga City Council has around 40 - 60 staff who regularly bike to work, a number that will likely increase after 52 staff recently bought themselves ebikes. Read more about this.
The use of 306 Cameron Road is temporary until the planned new council offices are constructed in Willow Street. The new building is intended to house all CBD-based council staff from 2020-21.