The land at Te Tumu, southeast of Pāpāmoa, is poised to become an urban growth area, eventually.
Work to create a crucial housing development at Tauranga’s Te Tumu has been pushed back at least 10 years as the city council reprioritises funding for other projects.
Tauranga City Council has not included funding for core infrastructure such as roading and services at Te Tumu in its draft Long-term Plan 2024-34.
Hearings for the plan begin on Monday. Some submitters have already called for the council to seek Government help to speed up progress.
The Te Tumu Urban Growth Area, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the north and the Kaituna River and wetland areas to the south, is expected to offer 6000 homes for about 15,500 people on about 400 hectares when finished.
It is considered by some people to be the most important housing area in the Western Bay of Plenty. It has also been discussed for the past 20 years. Development of the land is now not expected until 2040.
Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley told the Bay of Plenty Times committing ratepayers to Te Tumu was simply too risky and costly for now.
“Progress in developing Te Tumu is dependent on a number of factors outside of the council’s control and the commission has therefore prioritised enabling works which will allow the development of some 4000 homes in the Western Corridor. Having said that, the council has advanced the investment required to construct the Pāpāmoa East Interchange, which is essential to support development in Pāpāmoa East and Te Tumu.”
The factors included National Policy Statements for freshwater management and indigenous biodiversity which created “significant challenges”, Tolley said.
The new Government sought changes to these existing policies “but the current proposed timeline means that the zoning of Te Tumu will take longer and there is a high risk of rework required once the government policy changes are made”, she said.
“Until the Te Tumu growth area has certainty of zoning, it is not prudent to proceed with all the infrastructure investment required.”
The only consideration of Te Tumu in the draft Long-term Plan was allowing resourcing to enable rezoning, securing access through the Tumu Kaituna 14 (TK14) block, and planning and consenting the infrastructure required to service the area. The plan included “some of the infrastructure” which was the Pāpāmoa East Interchange, the Opal Drive wastewater pump facility plus Te Okuroa Drive and The Boulevard.
The TK14 block is an essential access point between Pāpāmoa East and the wider Te Tumu area. The trust acts on behalf of all land beneficiaries and is now before the Māori Land Court to resolve a dispute over plans for the land.
While the court matter was ongoing, there was “no guarantee” the land could be used as planned, and legal advice recommended the council not progress Te Tumu further until there was access, Tolley said.
“You can’t do anything ... until you get access [through TK14]. There’s no way. It’s a slow process,” she said.
There was also “no headroom [in the budget] for the wider development of roading and services for Te Tumu housing” because of the council’s debt levels, she said.
Obtaining resource consent to allow for a wastewater overflow into the Kaituna River was another challenge.
There were “still a lot of hurdles” and the council was “reluctant to commit ratepayers to physical capital works that could take 30 years”, Tolley said.
However, Tolley remained confident.
“All of these work channels are progressing; nothing has stopped.”
The delay meant the council could prioritise other projects while not affecting Te Tumu, she said.
The potential shortfall of housing as a result of the delay could partly be accommodated through greater medium-density housing development across the city’s existing footprint, Tolley said.
Tauranga had a shortage of 5000 houses.
In a submission to the council’s Long-term Plan 2024-34 hearings, TK14 trust’s Jeff Fletcher said it wanted a reference to Te Tumu’s development being “significantly delayed” until about 2040 changed.
Te Tumu was a priority urban growth area and the council and main landowners were progressing a plan change “with the aim of it being notified in 2025″, he said.
Fletcher hoped to start housing development by 2030. He asked the council to strike a deal with the Government for the funding and for all network infrastructure needed for Te Tumu, and its costs, to be retained in the final Long-term Plan.
Carrus managing director Scott Adams said in his submission Te Tumu was “the number one priority growth area in the Western Bay”.
A plan change to allow for development was thwarted by the Global Financial Crisis and environmental legislation meant progress had become “extremely challenging”. Despite this, the council should push harder for the plan change and, working with land owners, make risk-based decisions collectively, he said.
Tauranga’s housing shortage was compounding annually and was projected to reach a 10,000 shortfall in 10 years, prompting unaffordability, he said.
It was “critical” the council lobbied the Government to push the plan change through.
Because of the council’s debt limitations, “the focus must be on engagement with the new Government as a key stakeholder in upfront infrastructure investment”.
Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford told the Bay of Plenty Times the council’s focus should be on enabling projects that delivered “the core essential infrastructure our city needs to grow and function”.
The region had a “significant housing crisis” and Te Tumu was an opportunity to address this, he said.
Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell said the progress of Te Tumu was “crucial”.
“People in Tauranga often raise concerns with me that they think TCC is spending money on nice-to-haves and cycleways instead of focusing on what should be their core role: delivering the core essential infrastructure, minimising disruption and enabling our growing city to function smoothly.”
“We’ve got the most expensive housing in New Zealand rentals and we’ve got a massive housing shortage.”
Uffindell said he wanted to see more emphasis on ensuring infrastructure was delivered.
In response, Tolley said the issue was in “their Government’s hands” and she would welcome any assistance.
In the meantime, the council also had to look after existing residents’ quality of life and address community facilities and services coming to the end of their useful lives, she said.
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