Holiday period opening hours

The Service Centre at He Puna Manawa will be closed from Saturday 24 December 2022 and will reopen at 9am on Wednesday, 4 January 2023. 

The  Pāpāmoa Service Desk will be closed from Friday 23 December 2022 and will reopen at 9am on Thursday, 5 January 2023.

Council can be contacted on 07 577 7000 24/7 over the Christmas holiday period.

Under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, the statutory non-working days start from Tuesday, 20 December and run until 10 January 2023 inclusive. LIM requests are not processed during this period.   

If you need a LIM report before the holidays, you need to submit your application by Monday, 5 December for a 10-day residential or commercial LIM. 

LIM applications received from Tuesday 20 December will be processed from Wednesday, 11 January 2023.

The Customer Service Centre at He Puna Manawa is closed from Saturday 24 December 2022 and will reopen on Wednesday, 4 January 2023. Property files will not be issued during this time. 
   
If you need a property file before the holiday break, please request the application no later than Tuesday 20 December.

Under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, the statutory non-working days start from Tuesday, 20 December and run until 10 January 2023 inclusive.

This means that the statutory clock will stop on building consent and resource consent processing for the period between and including 20 December 2022 and 10 January 2023. This period will therefore not count toward the 20-working day processing time.

You are still able to lodge applications at any time, but they will not be reviewed until our return on Monday, 9 January 2023.

Building consents
Resource consents

The shutdown period for service connection processing will be from 20 December 2022 through to 9 January 2023.  

There are alcohol-free areas in Tauranga where you cannot carry or consume alcohol in public places. Tauranga has a mix of permanent and temporary alcohol-free areas  

View alcohol free areas

Animals on beaches complaints

You can exercise your dog(s) on most of our beaches all year round, as long as you have your dog under control and do not allow it to walk up to people or their property uninvited. 

There are some exceptions; you can’t take your dog to Pilot Bay, Mauao, Mount Main Beach and Moturiki (Leisure Island). This includes walkways, boardwalks, grassed areas, the foreshore and the dunes.  This is to protect nesting wildlife in these areas and because they are areas of high usage by the public.

You can find the leash control areas or dog prohibited areas and a lot more information on our animal services webpage.

Leash control or dog prohibited areas

If you wish to lodge a dog or animal related complaint, please call our council contact centre on 07 577 7000.

Depending on the type of complaint, the seriousness of the incident, and/or whether there have been any previous complaints, the response from us will vary. Options available to council are written warnings, abatement notices, infringement or prosecution. If it is a serious incident, it is likely the dog will be impounded until the matter is resolved.

More information on animal complaints

Sick, injured or dead wildlife, including penguins, seals, birds can be reported to the Department of Conservation (DoC) on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468)

Dog attacks

To report a dog attack/dog bite call the contact centre as soon as possible. We take dog attacks/bites very seriously and will act as quickly as possible.

Animal welfare

Any complaints about animal welfare, including animal ill-treatment or cruelty, should be made to Ministry of Primary Industries on 0800 00 83 33 or SPCA on 07 578 0245.

There are no changes to kerbside collections these summer holidays. Your bins will be collected on your normal collection days.

If you have extra glass, recycling or rubbish that won’t fit into your bins on collection day, you can either save it for your next collection day, or take it to the Te Maunga Transfer Station. Remember, bins with lids that won’t close can’t be collected. 

There’s no cost for dropping off recycling or glass at the transfer station. It's $4.00 per 60L rubbish bag for up to 3 bags, with a maximum weight of 10kg per bag. If you have more than three bags/30kgs, then it reverts to standard charges based on weight.

Te Maunga Transfer Station

Open 7 days as normal for most of the summer holidays, except for the following days where it will be closed, have reduced hours, or likely have limited access due to an event at Bay Park:

• Sunday 25 December (closed for Christmas Day)
• Monday 26 December (8.30am-5pm for Boxing Day)
• Sunday 1 January (closed for New Year’s Day)
• Monday 2 January (8.30am-5pm for day after New Year’s Day public holiday)
• Tuesday 3 and Friday 6 January (there are large events taking place near the Transfer Station on these days which may lead to limited access or extra wait times. Please avoid visiting these days if possible).

Maleme Street Transfer Station (open to commercial account holders only)

• Monday to Friday: 7.30am to 5pm (public holidays: 8.30am to 5pm)
• Saturdays: 8.30am to 3pm 
• Sunday: Closed

All-terrain vehicles (three or four-wheeled only, not two-wheeled) may be driven on the beach for recreational fishing purposes only, as long as they have the permission of council (authorisation number must be displayed on the vehicle). They can only be ridden on the beach east from Karewa Parade (vehicle access point 105 and 107 Karewa Parade) to and from the Kaituna River. They should be driven below the high tide mark (except when unsafe to do so) and must not be driven on the dunes.

Complaints should be made to the Police. Council enforcement staff cannot issue moving vehicle fines.

Under our Beaches Bylaw 2018, longline fishing (regardless of how it is deployed) is not permitted between the hours of 10am and 5pm from 15 December to 15 February. Fishing is not permitted within 300m of any flagged lifeguard area at all times.

All Tauranga City Libraries are closed on:

• Saturday, 24 December 2022
• Sunday, 25 December 2022 
• Monday, 26 December 2022
• Tuesday, 27 December 2022
• Saturday, 31 December 2022
• Sunday, 1 January 2023
• Monday, 2 January 2023
• Tuesday, 3 January 2023.

Libraries branches and normal opening hours

Baycourt will close at 12pm on Friday 23 December 2022 and re-open at 10am on Monday 9 January 2023.

While Baycourt is closed, people can still book tickets for future shows by visiting the Ticketek website or by giving them a call on 0800 842 538.

Baycourt opening hours

The Village office will be closed from 24 December to 9 January, however the Village will remain open to the public. The Village tenants all have different close down dates.

Historic Village office opening hours

There are a number of reserves, roads and car parks in Tauranga where self-contained mobile homes can freedom camp. However, there are different restrictions on the number of parking spaces available and days of the week someone can stay at each location. The maximum number of nights anyone can stay at any one location is two.

Full details on Freedom camping 

If you want to freedom camp in Tauranga, you must be in a self-contained vehicle that clearly displays NZS5465:2001 certification. 

The majority of complaints are usually about campers not being in a self-contained motorhome

Campers who do not adhere to the rules may be issued with a $200 fine.

Complaints can be made via the contact centre. TCC staff handle complaints during business hours and contractors afterhours. 

All reserves where you can freedom camp have clear signage and where possible we have dedicated parking bays which have been painted green with a white campervan stencil. Campers must be parked within the designated area overnight to avoid receiving a fine.

If a camper wants to challenge an infringement notice they can do that online.

Dispute an infringement notice

If you need help this Christmas, please get in touch. We have a service available for you to access any time without any judgement. You can send through your details and someone will get in contact with you to support you through this time

Here to help u

Do you or someone you know need help? Here is a brochure to guide you to resources to support you through this time.

Need a hand flyer (460kb pdf)

Mclaren Falls

McLaren Falls is open from 7:30am until 7:30pm during daylight saving hours.

Other parks and reserves

Most parks and reserves do not close at a certain time, however some have gates to the car parking areas. These gates are locked as per each site’s signage for locking and unlocking

The sites below have gates to the parking areas.

• Fergusson Park
• Gordon Spratt Reserve
• Greerton Park
• Waipuna Park
• Beach Road Reserve
• Carlton Street Reserve
• Cambridge Park
• Kulim Park
• Matua Saltmarsh
• Rotary Park
• Tye Park
• Pāpāmoa Domain
• Pāpāmoa Beach Road opposite Hartford Ave

Baywave TECT Aquatic and Leisure Centre, Memorial Pool, Greerton Aquatic and Leisure Centre, Otumoetai Pool and Mount Hot Pools.

Christmas / New Year opening hours

Tauranga community halls and centres.

Christmas / New Year opening hours

Trustpower Arena at Baypark, QEII Youth Centre, Mount Maunganui Sports Centre, Merivale Action Centre and Aquinas Action Centre.

Christmas / New Year opening hours