Opening Te Tumu, east of Pāpāmoa, up for development was discussed by Smartgrowth. Photo / File
Opening Te Tumu, east of Pāpāmoa, up for development was discussed by Smartgrowth. Photo / File
Cracks are showing in a sub-regional partnership tasked with delivering billions of dollars worth of transport and housing improvements in Tauranga and the Western Bay.
At the end of a year mainly focussed on planning, delivery was the word of the day at a meeting yesterday of the Smartgrowth leadership.
Smartgrowth is a partnership of the Tauranga city, Western Bay of Plenty district and Bay of Plenty regional councils, tangata whenua and other authorities and now, the Crown.
The first ministerial appointee to the group, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta, appeared via video link, but not until the group entered a session from which the public and media were excluded.
In the earlier public session, several Smartgrowth partners expressed concern about progress towards delivery of key projects linked to a $7 billion plan for growth in Tauranga and the Western Bay over the next 50-plus years.
The partners signed off the plan produced by the Urban Form and Transport Initiative (UFTI) earlier this year.
The partners also backed the 30-year Western Bay of Plenty Transport System Plan - a prioritised list of mostly roading projects representing the implementation arm of UFTI - and committed, at a sub-regional level, to fund the projects through 2021-31 long-term plans (LTPs), now in development.
Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber. Photo / File
In yesterday's meeting, Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber continued his campaign for all partners to follow through on the UFTI commitments in their budgets.
He said implementation had been a "disaster" in previous long-term plans and he did not want that to happen again.
Asked to clarify a remark about the group knowing the "solution" to implementation challenges but not wanting to "take the pill", he said: "Te pūtea kete" which he translated as "the money bucket".
"There are only two sources of funds: Ratepayers or taxpayers. Or if you're really brave, Lotto."
He called for a "come to the Messiah" meeting around March to discuss long-term plan consultation documents, and for "please explains" to be issued if targets were not met.
Tauranga councillor Larry Baldock defended the city's commitment, urging people to look at the resolutions agreed in the council's Tuesday's long-term plan meeting - in which a rates rise of about 45 per cent spread over the next three years was discussed.
Tauranga city councillor Larry Baldock. Photo / File
He said the council agreed to develop a draft that met the highest priority three-quarters of the Tauranga System Plan's projects for the next three years, plus close to $100m of roading infrastructure for the Te Tumu greenfield development.
Baldock said it was a "huge amount of money" and the council was relying on its partners to also come to the table with funding.
"I urge you to look at the numbers… before you jump to conclusions about us not meeting our obligations."
Bay of Plenty regional councillor Stuart Crosby - also president of Local Government New Zealand and former mayor of Tauranga - said the old models of delivery that opened up old growth areas for development, such as Pāpāmoa and Ōhauiti, would not work any more.
He urged advisers to "be brave and think laterally" when considering options to deliver planned greenfield development areas Te Tumu and Tauriko, both of which are behind schedule and face major hurdles.
"There is sufficient capital out in the world."
Bay of Plenty regional councillor Stuart Crosby. Photo / File
He was critical of a plan for a stocktake of information on development areas, saying Smartgrowth had had "one stocktake after another".
"We also want to know how we are going to deliver it at a governance level."
The meeting also considered an independent review of the UFTI plan that found delivery was at significant risk, from the perspectives of both financing and the governance partners' ability to collaborate without a more formal arrangement.
Other concerns were criticism from tāngata whenua about a lack of engagement and concerns about the achievability of UFTI's plan for high-density centres connected by better public transport.
Tauranga city councillor John Robson. Photo / File
Smartgrowth advisers said all areas of concern had either been addressed or had a "pathway" to allow them to be addressed later.
Tauranga councillor John Robson declined to support a resolution to this effect, saying he saw a "description of a pathway" rather than a pathway.
"I don't think we have a pathway to intensification." He said zoning had limited impact when the market ruled.
Councillor Baldock said Robson was there to represent a collective view of the council, not an individual view.
