Bella Vista: Why Tauranga City Council hasn't retained risky uncut slope

First there was construction: 21 houses built in the Bella Vista development in The Lakes. Then came deconstruction as its new owner, Tauranga City Council, had 16 torn down or removed after declaring them dangerous. With the development now on the market, reconstruction comes next - but why are the retaining walls still not fixed?

Remediating the Bella Vista development at the Lakes has so far cost Tauranga City Council $1.73 million.

The council said it was tracking under its $3m budget, but the figure pushes the known net cost to the council of dealing with the failed development to more than $10m.

And that doesn't include the cost of fixing one of the most controversial aspects of the failed development: retaining the up to 6m uncut slope between five houses on Aneta Way and 16 downhill on Lakes Boulevard.

An assessment that the slope presented a danger to both sets of properties was one of the main reasons the council declared the 21 houses dangerous and moved residents out in April 2017, as a cyclone bore down.

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The council went on to buy the affected houses, plus one Aneta Way neighbour for access, and start a project to rehabilitate the development for sale.

On December 6 the council announced it was putting the 22 properties on the market as a 7500sq m package, seeking expressions of interest from developers.

According to a real estate listing, the developer would be responsible for fixing the retaining at the site.

In a response to a Bay of Plenty Times official information request, the council confirmed last week it had initially intended to retain the uncut slope itself.

In recent months, however, it had become clear there were several designs for that work, some of which could impact development options.

"The different designs and gradient of the wall would alter the amount, character and slopes of land available for the construction of dwellings on the vacant Lakes Boulevard sections.

"Similarly, there are also a variety of potential lot designs favoured by developers.

"Rather than dictating one hard-wired option, council staff considered it more appropriate to leave these decisions to the ultimate purchaser."

The council said engineers had found a way to temporarily retain the cut during the remediation process.

"This has mitigated the critical health and safety risks."

The last two of the 16 Lakes Boulevard houses slated for removal went last week, leaving the lower part of development as vacant land in various stages of grassing over behind construction fencing.

Clearing the Lakes Boulevard strip cost $1.1m, and fixing issues identified in the Aneta Way houses had cost $400,000 so far.

Several neighbours of the development spoken to by the Bay of Plenty Times on Saturday were happy to have a short respite from the construction work but were generally looking forward to the site being fully finished and, if necessary, rebuilt.

Some said they wanted the land turned into a park, but understood it was unlikely given the council's need to make some money back to offset its costs.

If a new residential development was planned, they said it should be on par with the standard and character of the area, as well as being safe and properly consented.

No one was keen to see the sites more intensified, with some preferring fewer houses if possible.

One homeowner who moved into the street when the original Bella Vista houses were being constructed said she was just looking forward to it all being done.

"We've lived through the noise of the first construction, then the deconstruction and now there's going to be the reconstruction."

The council has said it expects several government agencies - including Kainga Ora - will be assessing the site, but several neighbours were not keen on the idea of it being used for state housing. Others said they did not care who lived there.

When news of the sale was announced, a Kāinga Ora spokesperson said the public housing provider had "no current interest in this location".

To November, the council had a $5.64m deficit from buying and remediating the development, and, as of June, had recorded $4.7m in Bella Vista-related operational costs - a net deficit of $10.3m.

The sale of the development will help offset those costs but is not expected to cover them entirely.