$12m plan to solve shortage of fields

Tauranga City Council building.

A projected city-wide shortage of sports fields will be remedied by a $12 million plan to develop a major sports park at Bethlehem in 2020.

The Tauranga City Council yesterday backed the plan to develop some of the 33ha of council-owned land above Taniwha Place that was a kiwifruit orchard called Parau Farms.

The development of seven sports fields will remedy an expected city-wide shortage of playing grounds by 2023.

Secrecy surrounds a potential cost-sharing partnership with a developer. However, the Bay of Plenty Times understands it involves the council doing a deal with the owner of a nearby block of land.

A report from strategic and corporate planning team leader Cheryl Steiner said the development would ensure the city had enough sports grounds to meet projected demand for the next 10 to 15 years.

The council allocated $10.4 million for stage one's five fields, with a further $1.6 million for stage two to be funded from 2018 to 2019 in order to take advantage of cost efficiencies. The decisions form part of the council's draft 2015-25 long-term plan that will go out for public consultation.

Development levies collected for active reserves will fund the $12 million, with $9.5 million already in the bank.

Ms Steiner said the council needed to have spent the levies by 2021 at the latest or else the council would potentially have to refund the money to developers.

Planning for the project will take place next year, with construction expected to start in 2016-17.

It was anticipated that the park would open in 2020.

The report said that while the playing fields in stage two were not required in the short to medium term, the cost of development was halved if it was done in conjunction with stage one.

Once the park opened, ratepayers would be funding about $375,000 a year in operating and depreciation costs.