Fast track for Tauriko West
Monday 5 March 2018
A new streamlined planning process will be trialled for the first time in the Bay of Plenty this year, so that
increasing demand for new housing areas can be progressed.
The Minister for the Environment, David Parker issued his direction to Bay of Plenty Regional Council last week on the
steps to be taken to amend the urban limits and allow for urban development of land at Tauriko West. Tauriko West, on
the edge of Tauranga, is the next proposed urban development to support the rapid growth of the western Bay of Plenty
and Tauranga.
“As strong population growth continues in Tauranga and the western Bay of Plenty, more land is needed for housing.
Through the SmartGrowth partnership between councils and tangata whenua, Tauriko West has been identified as a viable
location to open up land for approximately 3,000 new dwellings,” said Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chairman Doug
Leeder.
The Tauriko land proposed for development is currently zoned rural in the Western Bay of Plenty District Plan and
Tauranga City Plan. The area is currently outside the urban limits of the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement. The
first step in the planning process is to include Tauriko West within the urban limits line.
Under the Resource Management Act (RMA) a cascading series of Regional Policy Statement, District Plan and City Plan
changes, and land designations are required before the Tauriko West land can be made available for development. Public
consultation and notification processes apply to each regulatory change.
“The Tauranga urban limit boundary needs to be shifted, and then the Tauriko West land has to be rezoned to residential,
before it can be opened up for development. Bringing the area under the Tauranga City umbrella will allow the new
development to be well serviced and integrated with existing infrastructure, transport and community facility networks,”
Chairman Leeder said.
The Minister for the Environment’s direction is that new Streamlined Planning Process (SPP) provisions of the RMA should
be used to deliver the Regional Policy Statement change by 28 September 2018, ahead of the other required plan changes
and state highway alteration processes. Through the SPP provisions, public submissions will be called for by May 2018,
and a hearing will follow. The final decision to extend the urban limits for Tauriko West will be made by the Minister.
His decision is not able to be appealed to the Environment Court.
ENDS