Tauranga's youngest suburb has become the community of choice for many young families who have fallen in love with the area.
But some are now questioning whether they will still be there in years to come, with concerns over amenities not keeping pace with the area's rapid growth.
The Lakes sits on the western fringe of Pyes Pā in south Tauranga.
Some people refer to the newly developed area as Tauriko, others as Pyes Pā. Some even call it The Crossing due to the large shopping mall built at the corner of State Highway 29A and SH36.
For Stephen Lasslett, whatever its name, it's home.
"I just love it here. It's a fantastic place to live at the moment and it really, really suits us but the demographic is mainly young families. The concern is what happens when these children get a little bit older," he said.
Lasslett and wife Michelle have three children, aged 8, 6, and 1. As a family, they regularly bike around the suburb and visit one of the 15 local playgrounds.
"It's just grown so quickly in the five years we've been here," he said.
"It never seemed like the place we wanted to live but with the school being planned, all the parks and reserves showing up, and Tauranga Crossing being built – where we were in Ōhuaiti, it just wasn't going on there."
Lasslett has become an integral part of the Taumata School community and this month made a submission to Tauranga City Council's draft long-term plan.
The submission requested the council sell part of a patch of land already allocated for a neighbourhood reserve, near the school.
Lasslett said the sale could help fund sport, recreation and community facilities such as a pump track for bikes, scooters and skateboards, and become an older children's playground. Potentially, it could also host a covered outdoor basketball court with a barbecue area, pizza oven and picnic tables.
"It's about future-proofing The Lakes."
The idea was put to The Lakes community via a Facebook poll, with 94 per cent support.
"My concern, and concern of some of the parents as well, is all of these kids in daycare and primary school at the moment, they are going to get older and we just don't have the facilities for them.
"There's a whole pool of parents thinking 'will I stay in The Lakes in five years when I have teenagers?' "
Lasslett's concerns were echoed by The Lakes Community Association interim chairman Tony Gavin, who has been in discussion with the council about local amenities since February.
In its draft long-term plan submission, the association asked for fast-tracking of a joint multi-purpose community and recreation hub.
While the demographic of younger families in The Lakes had soared, Gavin said people would be surprised by how many older people were there also. Yet many felt limited in facilities available to them, he said.
"I talk to a number of older people and they say they would like to get together in a social setting but if you're an older person in The Lakes, there's nowhere apart from the Maude cafe where you can meet.
"The thing is, you don't meet many people who say they don't love living in The Lakes. They can see small things that can make it better, but they love it still."
Nicholas Meloni and his partner previously lived in Pāpāmoa and Welcome Bay, but plan to stay in The Lakes for good.
"We wanted to build a family home and bring up a family here. There are so many things for families here, so many walking tracks, playgrounds."
Meloni said the area also had a strong community vibe in which everyone pitched in.
"We believe in it, it's for everyone, and one day, it will be for our kids as well."
At Taumata School, the staffroom and other school areas have been turned into classrooms to help cater for soaring demand.
Principal Gen Fuller said the school, which opened in 2019, was designed for 390 students. The present roll is 510.
"I think there was a general belief the roll would be steadily manageable in its growth trajectory," Fuller said.
"We certainly experienced a real growth that has definitely stepped outside the profile of the school that was done."
Stage two of the school's build is under way with contractors on site to help increase its capacity for a roll of 650 students. It's a number expected to be reached sooner rather than later.
The school's zoning rules mean it can't turn local students away.
Fuller said she believed a lot of The Lakes' popularity came down to the "convenience of this suburb". But a lack of community sports facilities and amenities for older children was something the school was acutely aware of.
She said the school was willing to partner with the council to potentially use school land and greenfield areas to provide such community amenities.
"We would love that opportunity. These are things we think would be really desirable for our community."
Council director of spaces and places Paul Dunphy said the council appreciated the effort residents had made and recognised the need for more facilities.
Dunphy said this was why the draft long-term plan included $5 million for city projects "to ensure we cater for different ages and abilities".
"We also acknowledge that we need to increase the diversity in facilities in the community."
Dunphy said the council planned to progress work on an already-identified reserve in consultation with the Lakes community to provide "an appropriate mix of facilities" using existing budgets.
Asked why such amenities were not included in the original development of The Lakes, Dunphy said 17 reserves and more sporting facilities were planned.
"We also have set aside some funding in the draft LTP to investigate opportunities for delivering skate facilities across the city."
The council commissioners are expected to sign off the LTP on July 26.
Liz Hunter, 36
"Basically, it's family-friendly with lots of playgrounds and walking tracks. We're also nice and close to the primary school."
Vikki Doherty, 27
"It's really child-friendly. I love the community stand - you just go in there give any food you have and you can take as well if you need to. It's a real good community around here. There's a community page and if you ever need anything you just put it in there, people are so quick to help."
Rachel Howard, 33
"I like that everything is close. There's the pharmacies, the Four Square, takeaways and so many parks. We do a different park nearly every weekend. The school is great and there are just lots of families. It's nice."
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