Tauranga Racecourse. Photo / Supplied
Housing, a park and a transport hub are among possible future uses for a Crown reserve the size of about 100 rugby fields that now hosts Tauranga's racecourse and a golf course.
A council commissioner says strong feedback is expected - and even people prepared to "chain themselves to the gates" - as a study on what residents want for the land begins.
Tauranga Golf Club board chairman Paul Gartner says it would be an "absolute travesty" to use the land for anything but green space.
In partnership with Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities, Tauranga City Council has launched the Greerton Maarawaewae Study into the future of the 85ha Tauranga Racecourse Reserve in Cameron Rd.
The organisations are asking the community for ideas about how to use the land in the next 10 to 50 years.
The land is leased by Racing Tauranga and the Tauranga Golf Club on a fixed term until 2039 with no automatic right of renewal. The clubs are members of the Tauranga Racecourse Reserve Charitable Trust, which manages the leases on behalf of the Tauranga City Council.
Moving or reducing the size of the courses to make way for other uses of the land will be considered as part of the study.
At a media briefing at the Tauranga City Council chambers on Thursday, Tauranga commissioner Anne Tolley said there would be some people with strong views.
"I know of people who have threatened to chain themselves to gates to stop any change."
Tolley said while change was worrying, "this isn't a new discussion".
"We will get the extremes, but we will also have some very good rational thinking coming through. But we are encouraging people to think forward."
Tolley said there was a "long history of debate" about the land's future, but the city's housing need was acute.
She said Tauranga was one of the only councils in New Zealand that could not meet government policy expectations for freeing up land for urban development.
"The city has an average house value of about $1 million and an average household income of about $80,000.
"Those two don't compute and it means we have a significant number of people in this city who, even if they can find a house, can't afford to buy it."
She said turning the whole reserve into housing was not being considered, but building on some of it was one option - though no decisions had been made.
With 15,000 more people expected to live on the Te Papa Peninsula in the next 30 years, "we need to be thinking forward", she said.
"Growth is happening, you can't stop it. So how do we manage it in a way that protects the quality of life of the people who live here, but at the same time cater to the growth that is happening?"
The study was the start of exploring short, medium and long-term options for the land.
Golf club board chairman Gartner said it would be an "absolute travesty" to use the land for something like a park and ride.
"We would obviously prefer to keep the status quo. But our board is pretty much dead against anything other than green space for the area regardless of whether it is a racecourse or a golf course."
Gartner said the board was open to making the space available to more users and for the golf course to have public walkways and cycleways.
"But to give this up as a green space for the long term we all feel as a city would be a bad move."
The board would also be open to relocating and building a state-of-the-art golf course elsewhere, "as long as it was still within the city limits".
Tauranga Racecourse Reserve Trust board chairman Carl McComb said it had anticipated the launch of the study and had made its submission to the council through the long-term plan.
"Our focus is to extend our lease and continue our primary activity, which is to continue racing activity, and get some security around that."
McComb, also chairman of Racing Tauranga, said the reserve was a "special" piece of land and he looked forward to meeting with all users and the council about its future.
"Our preference is to remain on that reserve and be an inner-city racecourse."
Racing Tauranga general manager Louise Dean said her role was to ensure racing continued in the Bay of Plenty and was looking forward to its upcoming events, including Christmas at the Races.
"As long as we can continue putting on these events that bring fun and economic benefits to the city."
Tauranga City Council programme director of urban communities Carl Lucca said depending on the outcomes of the study, it was possible to break the existing leases early.
The council was continuing to engage with users to understand their aspirations and determine the next steps.
Lucca said Greerton and the Te Papa Peninsula were "quite unique" in that it was well provided for in terms of amenities and it would look at how much housing the area could absorb.
"It is not looking at low-density housing ... it's about looking at a mix of open spaces and some housing."
Kāinga Ora regional director Bay of Plenty Darren Toy said the reserve land should not be seen in "isolation" to the wider corridor.
"In doing this study, it is about how do we create this community in which people can work, live and play and learn across the wider corridor not just this piece of whenua."
People can share their ideas for what the best use of the reserve land might be online at www.tauranga.govt.nz/greertonmaarawaewae
Some ways the reserve land could be used:
• Gardens – botanic/Māori/communal
• Recreational activities – parkour, crossfit course
• Green corridor – walking and cycling tracks
• Sports fields – various codes
• Dog walking/training park
• Martial arts facility
• Outdoor festival venue
• Specialised equestrian centre
• Places for meetings, training, functions and conferences (a community
centre)
• Transport hub
• Mobile home park (for visitors to the city)
• Destination park
• An aquatic centre
• Hotel and events centre
• Housing – various types (on some parts of the land)
Examples of options that may emerge from the study include:
• Leaving the golf course as it is, improving the racecourse facilities and adding
some homes around the edges
• Leaving the racecourse as it is but move the golf course to free up some more
open spaces
• Leaving the reserve land for golfing, horse racing and equestrian uses (status
quo)
• Creating a large destination park or community gardens and include a new
facility for events and community activities
• Using some of the reserve for a transport hub alongside new housing and
community facilities
• Relocating the racecourse and the golf course and using the land for a mix of
different types of homes surrounded by parklands
• Reducing the size of the golf course and building homes, community facilities
and new green spaces on the land that is freed up
• Having a mix of gardens, different types of housing, function centre and
transport hub
