Potential $1.5m hole found in budget for proposed Tauranga museum project

Many Cliff Rd residents are against the preferred museum site. Photo/George Novak

A potential $1.5 million hole in the museum budget has been identified.

A new consultant's report recommended Tauranga City Council budget about $2m to go through a resource consent process to build the museum on reserve land at Cliff Rd, the City Transformation Committee heard yesterday. Council staff member Adele Hadfield, a lead on the museum project, estimated $500,000 of the proposed $55m budget - of which the council would pay $20.7m - was allocated to the process, leaving a potential $1.5m shortfall.

Consultant Gavin Kemble of Enspire, a firm the council engaged to do museum planning work, said their analysis determined an application under the Resource Management Act was the quickest, cheapest and most equitable option compared to a plan change or designation process - in spite of likely appeals from Cliff Rd residents.

"We have been told by a number of parties that they are opposed and that they will appeal," Kemble said.

Potential appeal issued included insufficient parking, traffic, loss of open space, excessive noise and protecting the site's historical and archaeological value.

Committee chairman Larry Baldock said the 2018 to 2025 timeframe for the project allowed time for appeals, and that iwi support for the chosen site opened doors to millions of dollars of funding that would not be available for other sites.