It's estimated that between 37,000 and 43,000 new homes will need to be built to keep up with demand in the Western Bay of Plenty over the next 30 years.

SmartGrowth's latest Housing and Business Capacity Assessment identifies what more needs to be done to meet the needs of the growing population.

SmartGrowth is a collaboration between Bay of Plenty Regional, Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty District councils, tāngata whenua and central government that sets the strategic vision and direction for the growth and development of the sub-region.

SmartGrowth Leadership Group interim chair Anne Tolley says the assessment shows there will be insufficient housing in the short, medium, and long term for the sub-region - but opportunities remain.

'This reflects a delay in being able to bring houses onto the market. These delays are caused by a range of factors including funding and delivery of infrastructure and the need to balance growth needs against national priorities such as the protection of highly productive land, fresh water and wetlands, and the management of natural hazard risks.

'Affordability and providing the right housing for our communities remains a key issue as well. Making additional land available for housing will not resolve this situation on its own.

'However, we know that councils are making plans with this in mind, including actively responding to rezone land in the right locations, providing the necessary infrastructure to support growth and enabling more development within existing urban areas.

'Changes to council District Plans in 2023 to enable more housing in existing urban areas will support efforts to increase supply, and so will spatial planning projects that are taking place in areas such as Ōtūmoetai, Mount Maunganui and Te Puke. Finding pathways to better enable housing on Māori land is also a high priority.”

Business capacity in the sub-region is also impacted by demand for land. The assessment has found at least 320 hectares of new greenfield industrial land is required in the subregion over the next 30 years.

This is not able to be met within the Tauranga City area and sites within the Western Bay of Plenty District will be considered to address this.

'Stats NZ projections estimate the sub-region's population is likely to increase to 282,900 in the next 30 years. Projections for 2022 show the population growing faster than the year before too,” says Anne.

'This is great as it creates opportunities for many, but it means we need the right infrastructure and land development to deliver the housing and employment our growing communities will need.

To ensure the right housing and infrastructure is delivered to meet the housing needs of our communities, a sub-regional Housing Systems Plan is being developed.

With a focus on delivery in the short term, the Plan will ensure key parties such as the councils, Tāngata Whenua, Kāinga Ora and the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development are working to the same Plan and are collectively supporting each party to deliver the housing we need as quickly as possible.

Kāinga Ora is currently investing in housing development across the sub-region, including along Te Papa Peninsula and in Tauriko West.

'But we also need more support from central government. We have written to the Minister for the Environment, Hon. David Parker, to acknowledge this position and highlight the need for central government support to provide major transport infrastructure to enable growth.

'We know we need to plan for our future needs, and the needs of our future neighbours. The Western Bay of Plenty is a great place to live, work and play – and we are focused on making plans that support people to live the life they want to here now, and into the future too.”