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Western Bay of Plenty Regional Deal

Regional Deal Partnerships

The Western Bay of Plenty sub-region has signed a Regional Deal with central government which outlines a series of commitments that will be delivered over a 10-year period.

A new era of growth, certainty and confidence for the Western Bay of Plenty

The signatories of the Western Bay of Plenty Regional Deal are the New Zealand Government, Tauranga City Council, Western Bay District Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

The Deal supports a coordinated programme of future growth infrastructure investment across transport, housing, health and education in the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region.

Together, these investments and initiatives are designed to unlock and enable housing supply and support high-quality urban growth, underpinned by a refreshed spatial plan and delivered through existing funding and financing tools.

The Deal represents a shared partnership commitment between central government and the sub-region to take a more strategic, aligned approach to investment - one that reflects regional priorities and delivers long term economic and social benefits for both the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region and New Zealand.

What's the deal with the Regional Deal?

The Western Bay of Plenty sub-region is one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing regions, but growth comes with challenges. The Deal’s intent is to help unlock our sub-region’s full potential and improve liveability – creating opportunities for economic growth, jobs, new housing and better, connected infrastructure. 

As part of the Deal, there are seven priorities which have been agreed to:

Transport Infrastructure
Land & Housing Development.
Social Infrastructure (Health and Education).
Export Growth.
Economic Diversification.

More information about what these priorities entail is outlined below.

A deal oversight board will be established comprising of representatives of Central Government, Councils, Private Sector and Iwi. This will report to a leadership group made up of Ministers, Mayors and Chair.

The first phase is a planning phase, which will develop an implementation plan that will be approved through our councils and the government (likely to take 4-6 months) and then we enter the 10-year Delivery or Implementation period of the Deal.

Reporting is quarterly to Governance, with reviews set out over time to ensure alignment and delivery of the outcomes.

What's in it for the Western Bay of Plenty?

What we hope to achieve:

Enable the delivery of up to 40,000 homes
Support the creation of 35,000 jobs
Unlock new industrial land
Deliver real GDP growth of 4.6% per year.

How would this improve life in the Western Bay? 

Delivering more housing, and improving affordability
Attracting new businesses and investment
Improving regional transport connectivity
Supporting wage growth and job opportunities
Improving access to education, health care and other essential services
Unlocking new funding and financing tools to manage growth and maintain liveability
Giving certainty: certainty drives confidence, confidence drives investment.

The graphic below outlines priorities for the Western Bay that will inform the regional deal. These priorities are grounded in the SmartGrowth strategy and shared by all three local councils.

Regional Deal priorities diagram - listing priorities above in a circle

Working together with a long-term plan in play

A regional deal will give us access to: 

A partnership with central government to tackle the real issues and manage growth
An economic growth plan that has rigour, certainty and commitment
Long-term certainty for strong partnerships.

The deal framework is based on a 30-year vision, with negotiated 10-year strategic plans to deliver the shared priorities agreed to. 

Summary of the Western Bay of Plenty Regional Deal

The implied investment into the region over a 10-year period through new and existing funding by both the Crown and the sub-region is likely to exceed $4bn across roading, waters, health and education.

The key themes are:

1.Transport Infrastructure

Objective: Enable growth by removing transport constraints and sequencing land release alongside major roading investment.

Initiatives

The Government will prioritise:
1. Takitimu North Link Stage 2 (TNL2, Te Puna–Ōmokoroa)
2. This unlocks the Northern Corridor including Ōmokoroa and will enhance residential and commercial opportunities in Katikati.
Widening of SH29A (Tauriko West, Barkes Corner–Tauriko Roundabout).
1. This enables the completion of Tauriko Business Estate and Tauriko West Residential development and has the potential to unlock other growth nodes in the west.
Investigate tolling options with the Region.
1. Looking at how new approaches may work for the region to fund its roading network.

2. Land and Housing Development

Objective: Unlock and accelerate housing delivery through greenfield growth in the Eastern Corridor, supported by the existing Tauranga Eastern Link, including the developments in Wairakei, Pāpāmoa East, Te Tumu, Bell Road and Te Kāinga; Northern Corridor, including developments in Ōmokoroa and Katikati; Western Corridor (Tauriko), and infill/intensification on the Te Papa peninsula over 10 years.

Initiatives:

Refreshed sub regional spatial plan which will empower the region under the new resource management reforms.
Eastern corridor waters infrastructure: The sub region, with Crown support, will explore methods of funding and financing the waters infrastructure requirements in the east that can operate within the intended ‘Waters Done Well’ framework. This will unlock housing in the eastern corridor.
Prioritise funding for local road improvements supporting housing growth in eastern, northern, and western corridors as part of NLTF GPS 2027.

The specific roading projects in each corridor over the 10-year term of the Deal are:

Northern Corridor:

Ōmokoroa
- Francis Road
- Francis Link Road
- Francis Link Road to Bridge

Eastern Corridor:

Te Tumu
Te Okuroa Drive
The Boulevard
Te Puke/Bell Road
Seddon Street
Rangiuru
Young Road

Western Corridor:

Keenan Road (incl intersection with SH36)
Belk Road
Kaweroa Dr extension to SH36

3. Social Infrastructure

Objective: Align health and education investment with growth to keep services in step with population change.

Initiatives:

Health
1. The sub-region and the Crown will form an independent joint planning group that will agree on a plan that meets the anticipated future growth needs.
2. Planned redevelopment of Tauranga Hospital to Tier 2.
3. Creation of a new ambulatory hub aligned with HealthNZ’s infrastructure plans.
Education The sub-region and the Crown will form an independent joint planning group and agree on a plan that meets the anticipated future growth needs.

4. Export Growth

Objective: Improve productivity and freight efficiency along State Highway 2 and support key export sectors.

Initiatives:

The sub-region to investigate an asset recycling programme which would attract a Crown uplift. Provisionally this would be used to fund ‘Connecting Mount Maunganui’ (Hull, Hewlett’s and Totara, State Highway & local roading upgrades) and the Katikati bypass.
Align local and national Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) worker housing rules to support projected kiwifruit growth in the Western Bay of Plenty.

5. Economic Diversification

Objective: Enable growth by driving economic diversification and unlocking the opportunities in the Māori Economy.

Initiatives:

Economic Diversification: the sub-region and the Crown will work together on economic diversification opportunities across horticulture and robotics, automation, marine science and aquaculture, and freight and logistics decarbonisation.
Activating the Māori Economy: The sub region’s Iwi and the Crown would work together across social procurement, housing and papakāinga, land leasing, and public infrastructure.