Building a new community
Tauranga City and the Western Bay of Plenty District have seen a rapid and sustained increase in population, with the sub-region’s population expected to increase and reach between 246,100 and 317,500 people in the next 30 years.
Keenan Road in Pyes Pā, part of what is known as the Western Corridor, is one of the potential urban developments proposed to support Tauranga's growth. The area has been identified by SmartGrowth as a potential future Urban Growth Area since 2016 – and more recently the SmartGrowth Strategy 2024-74 identified potential for 2,000 new dwellings at Keenan Road over the next 20-30 years. The final number of homes and timing of development will be dependent on the findings of ongoing studies.
The planning process and impacts of the Resource Management reforms
Building the new community at Keenan Road requires changes to the Tauranga City Plan to rezone the land from rural to urban so housing can be developed.
Since the project commenced in 2023, significant changes in the planning process have occurred, centred on the Government-led Resource Management reforms. The Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill, introduced late 2025, are proposed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991 and provide a new planning system which will affect how council delivers growth, infrastructure, natural environment management, consenting and long-term planning.
An important aspect of the new system will be the development of a Regional Spatial Plan (providing strategic direction for growth) and a new Land Use Plan (replacing the existing Tauranga City Plan).
Subject to the outcomes of technical investigations described below, the rezoning of Keenan Road for residential development would likely need to be integrated into the new Land Use Plan under the new resource management system – instead of a plan change process under the RMA. Public submissions will be invited on the Regional Spatial Plan and on the Land Use Plan, including feedback on proposed growth areas and land use zoning.
Find out more about the RMA reform
Technical investigations: purpose and outcomes
Following two stages of public consultation in 2023 and 2024, we have been undertaking technical investigations to help develop a proposed structure plan for the new Keenan Road community, which will inform the future rezoning. These investigations help us fully understand the opportunities and challenges for residential development in the proposed Keenan Road urban growth area.
This included site analysis studies (geotech, cultural, ecological, archaeological, contaminated land, land ownership, natural hazard assessments); infrastructure investigations (including water supply, wastewater, stormwater and transport); investigation of landform options; and open space and recreation planning.
These investigations have identified significant challenges. This includes the need for significant infrastructure investment (waters and transport) to enable full build-out of the growth area (1,800-2,250 dwellings); a relatively low amount of developable land area due to topographical, geotechnical and flooding constraints; and existing fragmented land ownership. Read more about these challenges in the 30 June 2026 report to the City Future Committee (link in document library).
As at mid-2026, a high-level feasibility assessment undertaken on this basis indicates that urban development of the entire Keenan Road urban growth area is currently not commercially viable, with costs outweighing the projected revenues. While the area is technically developable from an engineering perspective, the cost of development in its current form is likely to be prohibitive.
Developing further options
The next step is to test whether a staged approach to development could result in a feasible development outcome – one that enables some growth and requires lower cost infrastructure upgrades. This could include focusing on a smaller developable area; and staging development to build off existing water and wastewater infrastructure capacity (which provides for approx. 1000-1200 dwellings).
This option development will help determine whether there is a feasible pathway for development within the Keenan Road urban growth area in the short to medium term. The findings will be reported back to Council in the third quarter of 2026.