The unformed part of Hilltop Road in Merivale will be sold off, Tauranga City Council decided this week.

Council agreed to revoke the 883m2 of road, located at the northern end of Hilltop Road sloping down to Alverstoke Road, status as a paper road required under the Local Government Act.

TCC has decided to sell a 883m2 of paper road at Hilltop Road.

The council looked at putting in a cycleway walkway, but that's not going to happen because council staff say there are enough links to the nearby parks, and the contour is not conducive to the slope being developed as a walkway/cycle track.

City walkways are now recommended to be a minimum 10 metres wide. The paper road is 20-30 metres wide at the top, councillors were told.

Skinnier walkways can contribute to negative aspects within the surrounding community, says the staff report by strategic property advisor Richard Schrama. And it would make the remaining land too narrow to build on and uneconomic to sell.

The vacant site has attracted a number of illegal activities including graffiti, rubbish dumping and loitering, according to submissions. There are a number of other public walkways in the area that the council has been asked to close because of illegal activities, like graffiti.

It's too small to provide some purposeful function and it's too steep to be compatible for open space.

Open space is supposed to be within 500m of 95 per cent of residences served and ideally be 3000m2 in area.

As north facing sections on a free draining slope, the site could fit two residential units and a single title is estimated to be worth more than $130,000 plus GST.

Once the paper road is legally stopped, the adjoining owners have first option to buy at market value. If the neighbours don't buy, the council may then offer it on the open market.

The council received five submissions; one is objecting to the paper road closure, two are in support of the sale and two neutral.

One Alverstoke Road resident objects to sale of the road, but says he'll withdraw the objection if the council prioritises the development of walking and cycling access from Church Street to Mansells Road, in the coming year.

He objects because Hilltop Road provides excellent walking opportunities to and from Pemberton Park.

He says Tauranga City has failed to invest in adequate transport links for this part of Merivale. The Church Street-Mansells Road paper road is impassable due to growth.

The staff report states that the suggestion has been investigated. While it doesn't form part of the identified core pathway network as shown on the TCC website, it appears to have local merit.

The estimated $50,000 project will be programmed as funding permits.