Petition opposes parkland site for Tauranga museum

A draft plan provided to Cliff Rd residents of what a museum could look like on Robbins Park. Photo/George Novak

The preferred location for Tauranga's proposed museum has met strong resistance from Cliff Rd residents who want the parkland left open and green for future generations to enjoy.

Twenty-eight residents of the street that fronts on to Robbins Park near the police station have signed a petition complaining about the impact a museum would have on their lives.

The council has earmarked most of the reserve north of the rose gardens for the museum and carpark - preferring Robbins Park to the other option in the downtown civic block.

Residents' concerns would be put to a meeting of the council's city transformation committee on Monday.

Ada Taylor, 91, has joined the protest saying Tauranga would lose a lovely, relaxing area that overlooked the harbour. She regularly saw children playing on what were once bowling greens and the loss would be felt across generations.

She said the residential side of Cliff Rd was changing with more intensive housing and high-rise apartment buildings.

''A green area where people can relax is necessary for good health. The denser the population the more important it is to have a peaceful green space.''

Taylor said if the park was taken for a museum they would get more buses, more cars, more pollution and more of everything else.

''The museum should be down in the city centre next to the library and art gallery - make that the cultural centre of the city. We are all for keeping the green space on Cliff Rd.''

Andrew Newsom, a member of the dental practice in Cliff Rd, said traffic and parking were the big issues, saying that all the off-road carparks and free on-road carparks were full by 7.30am.

Once the museum was built, where would people go for their parking, he asked. The opening of Trustpower's head office in Durham St had made an instant difference to the demand for commuter parking.

A resident of the large apartment building at 22 Cliff Rd who asked not to be named was told that iwi would donate $1 million to the project, provided the museum was sited on Cliff Rd.

She understood the museum would be a single-storey building above ground level, reaching 9m in height. There would be an atea (Maori meeting space) next to the wharenui (meeting house) on the northern side of the museum, plus a water feature. Carparks would occupy the rest of this end of Robbins Park, up to where housing started.

''It will impact greatly on residents.''

She said the museum project included allowing for 70 carparks of which 35 would be for staff. It was also expected to draw 22 buses a day.

The council's preferred option to site the museum on Cliff Rd was open to public submissions as part of the council's 2018-28 Long Term Plan. A final decision also awaited completion of the museum business case and the planning review of Cliff Rd.

''There will be multiple opportunities for stakeholders to formally express any concerns with the proposed project,'' the report to Monday's meeting said.

Main reasons why Cliff Rd residents oppose museum on Robbins Park
• Substantial loss of parkland to residents and many other users.
• Greatly increased traffic including heavy vehicles.
• Security night lighting requirements.
• Functions day and night disturbing right to quiet enjoyment.
• Loss of privacy.