The land is zoned as rural and is contained within a large dairy farm fronting both State Highway 2 and Arawa Rd. Despite a small residential area across Arawa Rd, the surrounding environment is rural, with Paengaroa and Pukehina Beach the nearest residential settlements. It does not have council-reticulated stormwater and wastewater is disposed of to individual on-site effluent treatment.
Pongakawa already has a primary school, community hall and sports action centre on the southern side of SH2.
In a report to be presented to the committee, author and senior environmental planner Anna Price said the Private Plan Change was being pursued to consolidate and improve residential amenities “and to address housing supply shortages relative to demand increasing from the quickly expanding horticulture land-uses within the Pongakawa area”.
“The vision includes creating a high-quality residential village environment that integrates and enhances the existing Pongakawa settlement through the provision of reserves, reticulated services, a small commercial area and playground area”.
The plan change was considered necessary to provide housing that was “affordable for full-time workers in the horticulture sector seeking to locate in Pongakawa”.
The homes were expected to include higher-density housing - about 350m2 a lot, and of lower-density housing - about 500m2 a lot.
About 37,000 to 43,000 homes were needed in the wider Western Bay area over the next 30 years. Of this, 30,000 to 34,000 would be needed in Tauranga city while another 7000 to 9000 new homes were needed within the Western Bay district.
The Western Bay district has an existing housing shortfall of 2500 homes. Tauranga City has a shortfall up to 5300.
However, early consultation has drawn concerns from Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency as well as “mixed” views from locals.
Price said the regional council stated the proposal was contrary to Regional Policy Statement policies and the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL). Despite ongoing correspondence between the applicant and regional council, “no further agreement has been reached” as “the applicant does not agree with the BOPRC assessment”.
The response from Waka Kotahi stated there were other opportunities to meet the housing need and achieve better integration between land use and transport, such as nearby Paengaroa where there could be better potential for public transport, walking, and cycling outcomes.
“Meeting housing need through ad hoc plan changes and developments could undermine opportunities for development ...”
Waka Kotahi also said the settlement would be heavily reliant on private motor vehicles due to a lack of public transport and the need for travel was likely to be high. The area was also not identified as a growth location under the Urban Form and Transport Initiative.
The Urban Form and Transport Initiative is a collaborative project involving SmartGrowth, Waka Kotahi, Western Bay, Tauranga City and Bay of Plenty regional councils plus iwi and community leaders providing an aligned approach to housing, transport and urban development.
Ōmokoroa, Tauriko West, Te Papa, Te Tumu/Wairakei, and Rangiuru Business Park have already been identified by SmartGrowth as priority development areas in the Western Bay.
Price said Pencarrow Estate maintainedthere would be a reduction in travel due to providing for housing demand in the immediate area for horticultural workers.
The small commercial zone would provide local services and its location was “close to emerging employment locations and enabling accessibility to public transport”, Price said.
Feedback from neighbours was “mixed” while consultation with local iwi and hapu was generally supportive but Ngāti Whakahemo and Ngāti Pikiao expressed interest in how the water and wastewater would be managed.
Price said a key issue with the project was whether it could meet the National Policy Statement for Urban Development (NPS-UD) - that it was a well-functioning urban environment, well connected along transport corridors, and whether it would add significantly to development capacity.
If the committee accepts the plan change request, formal public notification will take place before any potential approval.
The meeting will be held at Western Bay council chambers from 9.30am and livestreamed via the council’s website.
Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.
