Tauranga has seen enormous population growth. Photo / George Novak
Tauranga has seen enormous population growth. Photo / George Novak
About 30,000 people were added to the population of Tauranga and the Western Bay in the last five years, according to the first data release from the 2018 Census.
That's an influx roughly the size of the population of Southland or Manawatū - or the Western Bay in 1996.
Butthe data also showed the rate of house building has not kept up, and regional leaders blame a disconnect between central and local government.
Tauranga's population expanded at a rate of about 3.6 per cent a year between 2013 and 2018, but the number of dwellings only increased by 2.6 per cent a year.
It was a similar story in the Western Bay: Housing increasing 1.9 per cent a year to population's 3.3 per cent.
Ōmokoroa was the fastest-growing Western Bay suburb, up 37.5 per cent.
Ōmokoroa was the example most frequently pointed at to illustrate gaps in Government investment in interviews with regional leaders.
Western Bay mayor Garry Webber said the land was opened up for housing in 1991 and the council did its bit to put in infrastructure for housing, but central Government investment, roads and education had not followed.
The lack of progress on safety improvements for the Ōmokoroa intersection was a bugbear noted by Webber and others.
Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber. Photo / File
Webber said the New Zealand Transport Agency was still arguing about whether it should be a roundabout or some other kind of intersection.
The agency was also in Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless' sights. He said a lack of investment in state highways was holding up the development of major greenfield housing area Tauriko West.
He said the Government had announced a Resource Management Act review and a new policy statement aimed at making intensification easier but had yet to actually tell councils what changes were coming.
National MPs Simon Bridges (Tauranga) and Todd Muller (Bay of Plenty) said the last National Government did its bit to enable housing with Special Housing Area legislation and plans for the Tauranga Northern Link, but the coalition Government cancelled both.
Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey and husband Tim Smith show off their baby Tutanekai to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Rotorua. Photo / File
Wairakei MP Tāmati Coffey, of Labour, said population had outraced housing for some time in his electorate, which includes Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.
"What I'm glad about is that we finally have a Government that acknowledges the housing crisis exists and has shifted our housing efforts into top gear in order to ensure everyone in our community has a warm, dry, home."
Hundreds of state houses were being built and the Government was also investing in other initiatives such as papakāinga, restructuring KiwiBuild and an innovative new home ownership scheme, he said.
The Bay of Plenty was the second-fastest-growing region in New Zealand, up 15.2 per cent to 308,499.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder and Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt said more co-operation was needed between all Government parties in the future, with population increases expected to continue.
Both pointed to factors such as lifestyle, a strong economy and job opportunities, and Auckland overflow being the main drivers of population growth.
Data about the age, gender and ethnic makeup of the region was not expected to be released until next year.
Tutt said the lack of detail - especially age breakdowns - made it hard to project the future needs of the labour market.
Participation in the Census, taken in March 2018, was lower than expected and data releases were significantly delayed while Stats NZ tried to fill the gaps with other government data.
Why UK family upped sticks and moved to Tauranga
Mia, Marie, Lee and Theo Larkin immigrated from the UK. Photo / George Novak
Among the new faces in Tauranga's fastest-growing suburb, Wairakei, are immigrants from the United Kingdon, Lee and Marie Larkin and their children Mai, 13 and Theo, 16.
Marie said they arrived at the end of 2017, after a scoping visit to New Zealand in 2016 where they picked Tauranga as their new home.
"This place felt like it was the place for us."
It was the beauty of the Bay that drew them first, backed up by the opportunities both for their children and to use their professional skills.
Thanks to some help from Priority One they had jobs lined up when they arrived. They found a rental in Golden Sands soon after.
Marie said "upping sticks to the other side of the world" was the most challenging thing any of them had ever done, and it had not always been easy. Being away from family and friends had been especially tough.
But they had made new friends, gained job experience, adopted a couple of pets - Smudge the cat and Cody the dog - and even found passion projects - namely the STEM Wana Trust for Marie.
New Zealand, and Tauranga was living up to their expectations and they had no regrets.
"This is home now."
Mai, Marie, Lee and Theo Larkin immigrated from the UK. Photo / George Novak
