Commision News & Views with Commission Chair Anne Tolley

After a month of intensive community engagement, more than 2000 face-to-face conversations, 34 community meetings, close to 1800 submissions and around 50 hours of oral submissions, the city now has a draft 2021-31 Long Term Plan ready for adoption.

The commissioners believe this plan is a game-changer for Tauranga, because it provides much-needed investment in community facilities (such as new aquatic and indoor recreation centres at Memorial Park and more support for the Incubator) and infrastructure – transport (roads and cycleways), water, wastewater and stormwater improvements. Many of the projects involved also have a focus on sustainability and carbon emissions – more on that in a future column.

By their nature, long-term plans can't please everyone, but it has been heartening to receive so much positive feedback from such a wide range of people, organisations and businesses.

Given the rates increases required to fund these long-delayed investments, that feedback shows just how passionate people are about their city and how much they want Tauranga to regain its status as a great place to live, work, play and learn – now and in the future.

At the start of this process, the commission made a commitment to listen to what the community had to say. I think our decisions show that we were, and are, listening.

We heard the concerns about fairness and have transferred a bigger share of the council's rates requirement to the business sector, via an increased commercial differential rate. We're also implementing higher development contributions, so that developers pay a fairer share of the cost of growth.

And we've been able to contribute to a significant number of community-led initiatives and accommodate the cost involved within our original budget.

In concluding, I want to acknowledge the massive effort by council staff to bring this LTP together. They have worked long and hard to address the community's submissions and accommodate the changes we have asked for.

Now it's time to get on with the job, and get it right!