More than 56 hectares of farmland in Tauranga has been rezoned and approved for residential development on Upper Ōhauiti Rd.
More than 56 hectares of farmland in Tauranga has been rezoned and approved for residential development on Upper Ōhauiti Rd.
More than 56 hectares of “prime farmland” in Tauranga has been rezoned and approved for residential development with 469 homes expected to be built.
Landsdale Development Limited proposed to rezone the land at 120 and 125 Upper Ōhauiti Rd from rural and greenbelt to medium-density residentialin 2022 to help meet the housing requirements of Tauranga’s growing city.
Tauranga City Council approved the private plan change at a meeting on March 3 after an independent hearings commissioner issued a recommendation to the council, and no appeals were received during the decision appeal period.
Real estate agency Bayleys said the rezoning was a “golden opportunity” for developers and investors as the two blocks of land are now available for purchase separately or together.
The agency said the “prime farmland” offered “spectacular views” overlooking Tauranga and was a “rare commodity” in New Zealand’s fastest-growing city.
The independent hearing commission’s recommendation report to the council in November said development was proposed in two stages.
The 13.9ha “East Block” at 125 Upper Ōhauiti Rd would be first followed by the 42.5ha “West Block” at 120 Upper Ōhauiti Rd.
The East Block was expected to yield about 145 residential lots based on a target density of 20 dwellings per hectare and the West Block was expected to yield about 324 lots, the report said.
Full development of the site would take more than 14 years.
The development included a new roundabout on Upper Ōhauiti Rd and provision for a future local centre.
The sites are at 120 and 125 Upper Ōhauiti Rd in Tauranga.
‘Once-in-a-lifetime chance’
Bayleys real estate agent Phil Mangos said the vision for the land was a medium-density residential community that harmonised with the natural surroundings, and delivered the highest standards of modern living.
He said extensive evaluation and investigative work had been completed, so developers and investors could move forward “to unlock the potential of this premium landholding”.
“There are few opportunities for rezoned land this close to Tauranga, and with the city’s growth trajectory accelerating, the timing has never been better.
“It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime chance to shape the future of this thriving region.”
The property included two existing dwellings, several farm buildings, and was currently used as a drystock grazing block running about 130 dairy replacements.
About 50% of the land was flat, 20% rolling, 20% medium hill, and the balance was steeper hills.
The council’s city planning and growth manager Andy Mead said a private plan change request for rezoning the land was initially received in April 2022.
The proposal was “substantially altered” and resubmitted to the council in August 2023.
Mead said the plan change request was formally accepted in February 2024 and publicly notified in April 2024.
The request included substantial information including stormwater modelling, cultural and ecological assessments, infrastructure, and transportation assessments.
Mead said the public hearing for the plan change was last November and was done by an independent hearings commissioner who issued a recommendation to the council.
The recommendation was adopted by the council at its meeting in December 2024 and then publicly notified.
In March, following the close of the required appeal period and “with no appeal received”, the council approved the plan change and it became operative on March 17.
Mead said the plan change required any developer to do infrastructure upgrades to service this land, and for further assessments to be done as development continued, especially for transportation.
Several open space areas including neighbourhood reserves were included with the proposal, he said.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.
