Planning for a new community at Tauriko West is part of Tauriko for Tomorrow – a collaborative project driven by four key partners, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tauranga City Council and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, and working closely with mana whenua hapū through Te Kauae a Roopu.
We are working together to create great communities and a safe transport network in the western Bay of Plenty to cater for growth and implement the vision of SmartGrowth for the wider region, starting in Tauriko West.
Background
Tauranga and the western Bay of Plenty continue to experience strong population growth and as a result, more land is needed for housing. We have identified Tauriko West as an ideal location to set up a new community and provide more residential housing to cater for this growth.
Opening the area for residential development requires improvements to the transport network. We are working with Waka Kotahi, stakeholders and the community to shape up the changes required along SH29 in the short term (enabling works) to enable the first stages of housing development. In parallel, the Waka Kotahi Board has endorsed the preferred option for future improvements in the area, supporting safety, freight movements and improved travel choice including buses, walking and cycling.
Progress on the structure plan for the new community at Tauriko West and technical investigations such as geotechnical, stormwater and environmental assessments are nearing completion, and we have developed proposals and ideas for the new community.
Subject to completing the planning process, we expect that the first houses will start being built from 2025 onwards.
Tauriko West project website
Building a new community
To create a thriving, safe, resilient and connected community that is well-served by amenities, we’ve developed proposals and ideas for the new community – where houses, open spaces, schools and other facilities could be located, as well as ways to protect the natural and cultural environment.
The draft land use plan shows the extent of land that may be developed for residential use, along with:
- Riverside reserve, escarpment areas, and open space.
- Connections to the short and long-term transport improvements.
- Multimodal links to Tauriko Business Estate and the wider city.
- Opportunities to connect walkways/cycleways along the Wairoa River.
Proposals for the new community
The planning process
Building the new community at Tauriko West will require changes to the Tauranga City Plan. This is a statutory process under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
Currently, the land within Tauriko West is zoned rural. We need to change the City Plan to rezone the land to allow housing to be developed. The plan change will also outline the planning rules that will apply to the development and guide consent decisions.
Tauranga City Council will progress the plan change through a variation to Plan Change 33 – Enabling Housing Supply. Like a conventional plan change this process will involve mana whenua, stakeholder and community participation (including submissions and hearings). Final decision making will involve independent hearings commissioners and Council, and if necessary, the Minister for the Environment – instead of appeals to the Environment Court. We are aiming to notify the Tauriko West plan change variation in early 2024.
Find out more about the Intensification streamlined planning process.
To prepare for the rezoning of Tauriko West, the change to the urban limits line (Bay of Plenty Regional Council) and local government boundary alteration (Western Bay of Plenty District Council) have already been completed.
Working with mana whenua
We continue to meet regularly with mana whenua through Te Kauae a Roopu, a partnership group made up of six hapū with links to Tauriko West and who whakapapa to Tauranga Moana iwi Ngati Ranginui and Ngai Te Rangi.
The six hapū are Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Pango, Pirirakau, Ngāti Hangarau, and Ngāi Tamarawaho.
Te Kauae a Roopu was established in 2017 to incorporate Māori knowledge, perspectives, and values into decision-making processes for Tauriko for Tomorrow, in partnership with other key stakeholders including Waka Kotahi, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, and Tauranga City Council. The group has regular hui to work on assessments and investigations relating to technical design and specifications, and to ensure key cultural values are aligned in all aspects of the project.
Providing access – the transport network
To support the delivery of urban growth at Tauriko West and in the wider Western Corridor, the Tauriko for Tomorrow partners are developing plans for transport improvements in the area. The transport plans aim to improve access to Tauriko Business Estate and Tauriko West, improve safety for all users, increase opportunities for public transport and active transport, protect freight routes to the Port of Tauranga, and open up the Western Corridor of Tauranga for housing and urban development.
Through this work, Waka Kotahi and Tauranga City Council have identified initial transport improvements required in the area, due to kick off in early 2024; and future upgrades to the transport network in the area.
The Waka Kotahi Board has endorsed the Tauriko Network Connections Detailed Business Case which looks at future transport upgrades to State Highway 29, State Highway 29A and State Highway 36 in the Tauriko West area. The preferred option includes a new four-lane State Highway 29 from Redwood Lane to the new Takitimu North Link interchange, existing SH29A widened to six lanes (two bus-only, four general traffic) from Takitimu Drive Toll Road to Barkes Corner, integrated walking and cycling connections and an improved public transport network.
Detailed information on these future improvements are available on the Waka Kotahi Tauriko project page.
Short-term transport improvements: Tauriko Enabling Works
Tauranga City Council and Waka Kotahi have approved a package of short-term transport improvements in the Tauriko West area. The purpose of the enabling works is to improve safety at the SH29/Redwood Lane and SH29/Cambridge Road intersections, enable development of the first 2000 homes within Tauriko West, support continued development of Tauriko Business Estate, and improve access to public transport, walking and cycling.
Please click the images above to see an enlarged version.
Subject to detailed design, land acquisition, and statutory approvals, construction of the enabling works is expected to commence in early 2024, and to take around three years to complete.
The proposed transport network
The Tauriko Enabling Works include:
- a new intersection with traffic lights on SH29 at Tauriko Village to provide access to the northern part of Tauriko West.
- widening of SH29 between the new intersection at Tauriko Village and Cambridge Road, including provision of a new shared walking and cycling path along the northern side of SH29.
- an upgrade of the existing SH29/Cambridge Road intersection with traffic lights and a new connection to Whiore Avenue for buses, people walking and cycling only.
- a new footpath along the southern side of Whiore Avenue and provision for future bus stops. The new bus stops and an on-road, two-way, protected cycle lane between the SH29/Cambridge Road intersection and Taurikura Drive would be installed once the first homes in the new Tauriko West community have been developed and demand increases.
- a new roundabout at SH29/Redwood Lane which will connect to Tauriko Business Estate via Kaweroa Drive and provide access to the southern part of Tauriko West via Redwood Lane.
- a new shared path connecting Redwood Lane to Kaweroa Drive crossing underneath SH29.
- closure of the existing SH29/Belk Road intersection, with traffic redirected through Tauriko Business Estate to the new SH29/Redwood Lane roundabout. The existing SH29/Belk Road intersection would only be closed once the connecting roads and the new SH29/Redwood Lane roundabout have been completed.