Huge interest in civic project

Tauranga City Council's proposal to create a new Civic Heart in the CBD has attracted a total of 574 formal submissions from the community.

Those submissions concerned proposals to build a new civic administration building, transforming Masonic Park into a civic square, and a proposal to begin feasibility studies for a museum, new library and new performance venue.


There's a lot of interest in the council's civic heart proposal. File Photo.

The 74 submitters who wish to talk in support of their submission will speak at hearings next week, August 1-3, followed by deliberations by council on August 9.

Submissions closed July 18, however late submissions have been accepted.

'We endeavoured to engage as many people in our community as we could – through our community days, stakeholder presentations, in the media, through advertising and social media and our online and printed council channels,' says Mayor Stuart Crosby.

'There was a high level of awareness of the project during the public consultation period, and this has led to a good number of formal submissions.”

Council has been working on a project to resolve issues with its current office accommodation since late 2014. In response to community feedback in the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan, this project was broadened to include consideration of other projects with potential to create a civic heart for Tauranga.

The proposed Amendment to the Long Term Plan includes proposals to invest $68.6 million during the next four years to build a new civic administration building with surrounding open space on its Willow Street site, and $2.5m to transform Masonic Park into a civic square.

It also proposes setting aside funding to explore the feasibility of a museum, finding the best solution for providing fit-for-purpose library services in the city centre, and a new 1000-1200-seat performance venue on the site.

Hearings will be held in Council Chambers on Willow Street on:

Monday, August 1: 9am-5pm Tuesday, August 2, 3pm-8pm Wednesday, August 3: 2pm-5pm

The hearings are open to the public to attend, while agenda and copies of all submissions will be available on the Tauranga City Council website by Wednesday afternoon, July 27.

For more information on the proposed amendments to the Long Term Plan visit: http://www.tauranga.govt.nz/ltpa

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