City council's plan to sell off the green space bordering the ‘entrance to the city' is being challenged by residents accusing the authority of hiding information.

Council are looking to sell-off six properties at the ends of Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Avenues - properties they originally purchased because of the expected impact of traffic noise from Takitimu Drive.

Land alongside Takitimu Drive. Photo: Google Maps.

According to avenues resident Barry Coghlan, council did not re-sell after the road was opened, and the official reasons why were not made available to residents until just two hours before the Strategy and Policy Committee meeting this week.

'Council stated that they have consulted with the people of Tauranga on their plans,” says Barry, 'but what we have found is that very few people seem to know about it.”

Barry is accusing council of 'tucking away” the information in the ten year plan, where he claims very few people came across it.

'The consultation with residents immediately affected hasn't happened,” he adds, 'and the council had not even provided a map of the land to be sold.”

The land to be sold goes across the road's walkway in a number of places, so if the land is sold, the walkway will have to be squeezed between residential housing fences and the expressway.

The original environment impact assessment states the road was originally to be sited 20 metres offshore, but was moved alongside the former beach because there were no houses in the vicinity.

'This is the reason why the route was selected,” says Barry, 'because there were no houses on the flat area beside the water.

'Does it make any sense now, given that the only reason to bring it closer to shore was because it didn't matter? It wasn't going to imping on houses or the views from the escarpments.”

The original environmental impact report was adopted on that basis, says Barry. Now, it's being overturned.

In October 1995, council passed a resolution that the greenspace would never be sold, he adds.

Photo: File.

'Council have done a huge amount of studies and now seems to be totally ignoring it,” says Barry. 'All of the planning to this point – that we have paid for – have said don't sell that land. So why are they going to sell it?”

About 40 Avenues residents and supporters were on hand to see a 1000-signature petition handed over to the Strategy and Policy Committee, along with the message that council is reneging on previous agreements with the community over the land.

'This is a beautiful gateway into Tauranga with the Waikareao estuary, the Mount standing proudly in the distance and the green belt stretching right along Takitimu Drive on the right,” says Avenues resident Jenny Glausiuss.

'Green spaces once developed are never regained. Let us consider the future of our city and retain some of our natural beauty.”

Mary Dillon, who was deputy mayor at the time, says just getting a road along the estuary involved considerable fence mending with the local Maori Community, which had been alienated over the demolition of the old town hall in the late 80s.

There were also issues with the community living on the Avenues because they were living above a tranquil estuary, and they were set to have a busy road built underneath them.

'And if you go and sit at the bottom of Fourth Avenue and listen to the traffic noise today, you might understand what that means,” says Mary.

'It's just a constant roar from the traffic coming through there.”

The council changed its mind about the properties in 2012, adding them to the list of potential land sales. The potential sales are part of the larger property land sales plan which it is said will bring in revenue of $27.7 million over the next 10 years.

The potential sale of the seven sections and associated road reserve represents a quarter of the green space in central Tauranga – a city Barry says already lags on available green space when compared with others.

When asked about Barry's accusation that information requested under the official information act was only made available two hours before the meeting,Tauranga City Council staff replied:

'The Council's information-gathering and responses to Mr Coghlan have been ongoing due to the complexity of his request. He has been kept informed of progress along the way. The latest piece of information provided yesterday was the final part of a larger response.”