Te Tumu - Should we be investing in new greenfield developments on our Bay of Plenty coast?

 Writing this from my home in Mount Maunganui, I am just out of the tsanami red zone, two blocks from the beach. In fact my house is in a very similar zone to where plans are underway for 25,000 new homes, a whole new town, stretching East from Papamoa down to where the Kaituna River meets the ocean. It is interesting to note that although my house would not (I'm told) be inundated in a disaster such as this, many people have evacuated themselves. Had this been a higher alert level, the road network, emergency services and public amenities available further inland will be expected to cope with 25,000 new coastal strip dwellers, enjoying the beach vibe until we are suddenly completely reliant on the emergency services system to protect us. Nowhere have a seen the modelling to assess what the impact would be if 25,000 more people living on our coastal strip feel compelled to move to higher ground during a future emergency.

Other impacts of greenfield development in recent years in Tauranga are clearly visible, but in my view are being sidelined, as the short term political and social demand to provide housing immediately, overrides the focus on actively facilitating more and better housing choice within our existing communities.

Tauranga has grown outwards faster for it’s size than any other city in New Zealand in recent years. It is therefore no accident that our city centre has died a slow death and our transport infrastructure and community facilities are unable to keep up. While the population of Auckland’s urban area grew by 23%, its urbanised land area only expanded by 11%. Whereas, Tauranga’s urbanised population grew by 27%, while its urbanised land area expanded by 25%. From my experience, there is little confidence within Tauranga City Council and Government, that housing can be delivered at scale within the current footprint of the city, so there is constant pressure to keep releasing more greenfield land.

I believe that there is so much opportunity within our existing footprint to redevelop and deliver good quality mixed-use and inspiring places to live, especially where single story, dilapidated retail/commercial property currently sits.

These developments need to be master planned, not by individual developers on small sites, but by multiple collaborations of stakeholders that look at entire blocks. I am interested in how these collaborations can be facilitated, and what mechanisms exist that can help us to deliver outcomes over a ten-year time frame. It would certainly be helpful if we do this before we succumb to another release of more sprawling suburbs. Greenfield developments require staggering amounts of money to provide good community amenity and infrastructure. We need upgrades of our existing amenities and infrastructure, This would not only support existing communities and businesses to thrive, but create vibrant intergenerational future communities that are sustainable and resilient during threats such as the one that we are faced with today.

Potentially a better vision for this land would be a regional recreation park that we could all enjoy where our coastal flora and fauna were also encouraged to thrive.