Tauranga City Council will today decide on the future of the block of land currently home to Mount Maunganui Library and a Plunket preschool.
Tauranga City Council will today decide on the future of the block of land currently home to Mount Maunganui Library and a Plunket preschool.
Fears have eased that the Mount Maunganui Library and neighbouring Plunket Preschool could be forced to shift to make way for construction of a new head office for Zespri.
Decisions today on the future of the 1.6ha council-owned block in Maunganui Rd appear to have excluded the controversial options that the library and preschool should move.
Instead the focus of councillors will be on the future of the 1.15ha balance of the land taken up by Zespri's head office and a small area of parkland.
About 70 per cent of the 1.15ha was leased to Zespri which earlier this year unveiled its plans for a "world-class development" involving the purchase of the entire 1.6ha Maunganui Rd block.
Zespri was up against overwhelming public opinion to retain the parkland, together with the library and preschool.
Council staff have recommended selling the 8000sq m southern half of the site and relocating the parkland so it sat between the preschool and the piece to be sold. This option would require demolishing part of the former Mount Borough Council offices currently occupied by Zespri.
The other option was to not retain the parkland but sell the entire 1.15ha balance of the land. The park, used by Little Big Markets, was currently at the southern Matai St end of the block.
The strategic review into the 1.6ha block was partly in response to Zespri approaching the council about its long-term office requirements and partly to reduce council's debt.
A report to today's meeting will say the dominant feedback from the 198 public submissions is for the status quo.
The Mount Maunganui Plunket Preschool
Although an investigation of reserves in Mount Maunganui North showed that a park on the site was not required, a report commissioned by Kiri Pope Consulting identified that the demand from events and community activities would increase the pressure for open spaces. It was recommended that 3000-3500sq m be retained as parkland.
The library review indicated that, on balance, it should be retained in its current location. It was reported earlier this year that the council was questioning whether the library was now in the right place, given the population growth out to Bayfair.
Tauranga City Council's Maunganui Rd Block: Rateable land value: $6.1 million Value of improvements: $5.6 million Purchased in three stages: 1953-60, 1967, 1974
Papamoa's library had shown that libraries worked best when they were co-located beside major shopping centres.
The report said Plunket benefited from a long-term lease with perpetual rights of renewal and, on balance, the preschool should be retained.
