Greerton Maraawaewae Study: Hearings tipped for future of Tauranga Racecourse

An alternative option offered by Racing Tauranga to retain existing facilities but also add recreational elements. Image / Supplied

City leaders are considering hearings to determine the future of Tauranga's golf club, horse racing community and equestrian centre, which has been mired in a "great deal of uncertainty".

Tauranga City Council was presented with the top-four ranked options for the future use of an 85ha of Crown-owned land as part of the Greerton Maraawaewae Study.

None include the Tauranga Racecourse remaining onsite. Instead, active recreation, a health facility and housing were favoured.

Commissioners were told in yesterday's council meeting that, in total, 10 options were considered - seven retained the Tauranga Golf Club, four retained the Tauranga Equestrian Sports Association, and just two retained the racecourse.

Tauranga City Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley. Photo / George Novak

Urban communities programme director Carl Lucca said it was important to recognise existing users "but we also need to recognise the need for relocation within our local environment".

Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley was concerned that only about 1500 people gave feedback and suggested holding hearings to better canvas the community's views.

"It sort of worries me. This is quite a significant process for the area..."

Tolley said existing users had been dealing with "a great deal of uncertainty".

Commissioner Bill Wasley said he believed there was "some mileage" in holding hearings, which was also supported by commissioners Stephen Selwood and Shadrach Rolleston.

In 2018, a Review of the New Zealand Racing Industry, known as the Messara Report, forecasted plans to drop the nation's racecourses from 48 to 28. Tauranga was included in the 28 to be retained.

But New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing recommended that Rotorua, along with 19 others, would not be issued licences to hold race meetings from their proposed year of closure. It was expected that from 2023/24, Rotorua's racecourse was not likely to be needed and Rotorua and Bay of Plenty racing "should race at Tauranga".

Doug Owens. Photo / NZME

In 2019, Thoroughbred Racing released its proposal, in which Rotorua's closure was not recommended.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Bruce Sharrock refused to comment.

Racing Tauranga board member and former regional councillor Doug Owens said the club was "never asked for input" and became "so frustrated" that it created its own option - but the council's preferred options were released before the club submitted anything.

The club's alternative option retained the existing users while also providing land for recreational use, he said.

It would also prevent any need to break the lease that the club has to use the Crown land, which is administered by the council and valid until 2038. The only way to break it would be through the Public Works Act with approval from a Government minister, Owens said.

It is understood that there have been conversations about creating a new regional racing facility in Paengaroa that would cost about $70 million.

Tauranga Racecourse, framed by Tauranga Golf Club, pictured from the air in 2018. Photo / Jimmy Joe

Owens said such a move would be a "massive undertaking".

"Why would you spend $70-odd million-plus on setting up a new racecourse when you can spend it on multi-purpose events, sports and community cultural centre and keep the racecourse?"

Owens said racing was "arguably a sunset industry", which further strengthened his argument that the Tauranga Racecourse should remain where it was.

Owens' views were supported by fellow Racing Tauranga board member and Ngāi Tamarāwaho representative Buddy Mikaere. The hapū has already raised concerns about proposed housing development on the land.

Mikaere said the club was also not averse to the land being used for other recreational purposes.

Racing Tauranga chairman Carl McComb said the omission of a racecourse in the council's preferred shortlist options was "very concerning".

McComb said Racing Tauranga would explore relocation options "in good faith" but maintained its strong preference to stay at the existing site.

An alternative option offered by Racing Tauranga to retain existing facilities but also add recreational elements. Image / Supplied

The council's strategy and growth group manager Christine Jones said the council and Kāinga Ora engaged existing users to identify "future aspirations", and feedback helped shape final options.

Asked how much the proposed relocation would cost, who was expected to pay for it, and whether the council was considering a $70m option in Paengaroa, Jones said a cross-organisational working party was to be set up "to look at options for this".

"This work would give consideration to a range of matters including site suitability and financing approaches."

But the work has not yet started.

"The consultant team has independently scanned for other possible location sites but these are not within the scope of the study to report to the commissioners."

Any relocation or financing discussions by the council would need to take place after the June decision by commissioners, should that decision be to move some of the existing users from the site, she said.

In Rotorua, Poutama Trust deputy chairman David Tapsell said it was "ready and waiting" to develop housing on the land that hosts the local racecourse. Like Tauranga, the land was gifted to the city for the purposes of racing. If it was no longer used for racing, it would need to be returned to Maori.

Tapsell was also aware of potential Paengaroa plans.

The Tauranga commissioners received the report and noted it expected to be presented with a further refined shortlist of preferred options in June.