Smiths Farm sold for special housing area

Westridge resident Doug Hendry and the rustic backdrop of a farm that could be lost to more houses. Photo/Andrew Warner

Smiths Farm will be sold and plans have been fast tracked to make it into a Special Housing Area.

The decision was made at a Tauranga City Council meeting today and only councillor Catherine Stewart voted against it as she believed "the whole process has been rushed."

Westridge residents also had a David and Goliath moment as the council agreed that access to the new development would not be through Westridge Dr, but through another access way to be built.

Options and associated costs would be considered in the new year while council would retain a strip of land at the end of Westridge Drive to accommodate potential extension and connection of Westridge Drive to the new access way, should the Westridge Drive community support this in the future.

Earlier this month nearly 30 Westridge ratepayers made their presence felt and tried to convince councillors at another meeting not to put an extra 2500 vehicles a day through their subdivision.

At the meeting today Westridge resident Doug Henry said he was pleased with the decision.

"I am very happy that councillors listened to what ratepayers thought. We didn't want to block development in Tauranga we just didn't want it to destroy our lifestyle."

Smiths Farm encompassed 15ha of land that was suitable for development.

The remainder of the land, including Kopurererua Valley reserve land on the eastern side of Takitimu Dr and the green bank along Takitimu Dr would be retained in council ownership.

Smiths Farm was one of the council-owned properties included in council's wider Land Sales Programme. Land sold was surplus to requirements and proceeds from sales contribute to reducing council debt.

Next year council would consider to sell the land to a developer, partner with a developer or undertake the development itself.