Display house wins temporary reprieve

Tauranga South Garden Club president Joan Malcouronne was among those fighting to save the Robbins Park Tropical Display House.

The threat of closure has been temporarily lifted from Tauranga's tropical display house after a huge public outcry.

Tauranga City Council voted 7-3 yesterday for a reprieve, in which the future of the display house in Cliff Rd will be considered as part of the creation of a management plan for the reserve.

Mayor Stuart Crosby led the debate, saying the building's future would be tied in with decisions on what would be allowed to happen on the reserve that also included the Rose Gardens and a carpark built on the old netball courts.

View a video of our trip inside the display house below.

He was supported by Councillor Catherine Stewart, who said the display house was a big part of the city's heritage that had been a bit overlooked. "It means a lot to many people."

Cr Bill Grainger argued there was nothing else like it in Tauranga. "Some of us may have dollars in our eyes but it is somewhere for the people of Tauranga to enjoy," he said.

Opposing councillors included Matt Cowley, who said the argument that it was a place of tranquillity to enjoy something unique was part of his logic to invest $150,000 in The Elms and its gardens.

Cr John Robson backed The Elms argument, saying the display house was a shadow of what it used to be. He disputed that it was a place of tranquillity when it had so few seats. "It's standing room only."

Also opposing was Cr Steve Morris. But other supporters were Kelvin Clout, Rick Curach, Leanne Brown and Bev Edlin.

The public process of preparing a reserve management plan would take at least a year and would need to take account of the proposal to site a museum on the land. However, nothing would happen until the council appointed a reserve planner.

Councillors earlier heard that a consent was being sought to extend the Cliff Rd carpark to create another 73 parks opposite Brown St, bringing the total to 145 carparks.

Other decisions:

-The council agreed to stick with the status quo for downtown parking charges, including the cheaper early bird rates on the Elizabeth St parking building and free parking after 3pm.

-It will press ahead with plans to build a $24 million city centre parking building and create another 110 spaces by a $5 million extension of the Elizabeth St parking building.

-Evaluate options for three farms purchased to accommodate the growth of the city but which the council has decided are no longer needed for sportsfields. They are Smiths Farm (Bethlehem), Merricks Farm (Pyes Pa) and Ohauiti Reserve. The council has earmarked potential revenue of $10 million from selling the farms in 2016-18.

-Confirmed the intention to spend $4.5 million in 2018-19 to acquire land for an active reserve in the Te Tumu growth area, Papamoa East.