Our Direction

Council recognises how important trees and urban forest are in providing shade and cooling and a connection to nature. This helps lessen the impact of climate change on our city and communities. 

So we are 'greening our city' by increasing tree canopy cover and urban forest across the city. We are doing this by increasing the numbers of trees on public land (and looking after the ones we already have) and finding ways to incentivise private landowners to plan and retain trees

We are responding to the issue of housing in Tauranga by enabling more housing to be built at greater densities (number of homes per hectare) and heights within our existing urban areas such as the city centre, Te Papa and the Ōtūmoetai peninsulas.

With development capacity still some years away, we plan to:

• investigate options for reinvestment of proceeds from the sale of elder housing villages to deliver housing outcomes for the city
• support papakāinga housing and registered community housing providers
• encourage more housing density and greater housing types and price points across the city
• work in partnership with other key agencies such as Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, local community housing trusts and Māori land trusts
• explore opportunities for capturing the increase in value from rezoning and urban infrastructure investment and reinvesting this into more affordable housing supply.

Our public places provide opportunities to engage with nature, community, culture and storytelling, and play, connecting our communities and helping people thrive in place. In Tauranga, our investment in community facilities has not kept pace with growth.

Council is committed to addressing this historical underinvestment in libraries, community centres, indoor courts, aquatic centres, sports fields and our reserves network, and future-proofing our city.

Lowered air and water quality and an increase in toxic substances in the Mount Maunganui industrial area have caused health concerns for the Whareroa and Mount Maunganui communities.

One of the ways Council is managing environmental impacts in this area, particularly air pollution, is through zoning of land.

Council is working with sub-regional stakeholders to investigate land use options, including options to prevent more heavy emitting activities establishing in this area in the future, to address environmental and health concerns.

Council has committed $303m of investment in the city centre over the next six years. This includes the Te Manawataki o Te Papa – the heartbeat of Te Papa (Civic Precinct) redevelopment, ongoing waterfront improvements, movement projects and public space and facilities upgrades. The University of Waikato is also continuing to invest in their city centre campus and Priority One’s CBD Blueprint anticipates $1.5b of private investment in residential, commercial and retail development by 2030.

Delivering the Connected Centres Programme and the Transport System Plan will result in infrastructure, policy and land use change - generating a shift from cars to public transport, improved safety, reliable travel times (including for freight journeys and commercial traffic), and better walking and cycling connections.

This work will transform existing urban areas such as the City Centre and Te Papa Peninsula.

Council is also supporting expansion into Te Tumu and Tauriko growth areas through:

• accelerating decision-making for SH29 improvements
• actively progressing Hewletts Road/Hull Road/Totara Street improvements to accommodate and speed-up traffic flows across the city and to the Port.