Tauranga city councillor John Robson is questioning conflicting messages surrounding the regional council's long term plan.

Bay of Plenty regional councillors John Cronin and Paula Thompson told city councillors recently that they are seeking public input concerning a number of serious issues that will affect the region's future.

SmartGrowth is credited with fast-tracking government projects like the TEL in the Western Bay.

But at the same meeting, in response to questions from John, they admitted that the council intends to slash its financial support of the strategic planning forum SmartGrowth by $200,000.

The cutback, which will see a drop from about $350,000 a year at present to $150,000, will take place in year two of the long term plan.

Smartgrowth is a joint venture between the Western BOP District Council, Tauranga City Council, BOP Regional Council, regional iwi and the New Zealand Transport Agency.

'If we really are trying to ensure the best investment of billions of dollars for significant periods of time, it doesn't make sense,” says John. 'If you are going to invest big money you have got to get your planning right.”

SmartGrowth's defenders, including the BOP Regional Council, rallied to back the collaborative planning approach late last year when Tauranga City council tried to break ranks over Bob Clarkson's land at Tauriko.

The SmartGrowth approach of working from the same population growth numbers and patterns is credited by the NZTA with being a deciding factor in obtaining government funding for projects like the second harbour bridge, the Tauranga Eastern Link, the Bayfair overpass and rail re-alignment.

'I honestly think there's some politics involved,” says John.

'I think there are some people in the city who don't support the concept, some who support it in part and are not happy with the execution, or where it sits in terms of ownership.

'The feeling I get on the ground from some people is though it is on the draft LTP, it is in a sense a bit of a provocation and they are looking to demonstrate its value.

'They are looking to get a reminder - a public reminder. At one level I think there is a game being played. And I think there are risks to it. I don't think SmartGrowth has full community support.

'And I think some people will take the regional council positon at face value whereas I get the feeling others would say the regional council position is an invitation to various partners to publicly express their support.”

If the regional council really wants to provoke comment about SmartGrowth, it could significantly increase funding, says john.

A past critic of some SmartGrowth decisions, John says he claimed in 2010 that SmartGrowth was under-funded.

'Smartgrowth is a spatial planning tool for a sub region,” he adds. 'There are literally billions of dollars riding on getting it right.”

He thinks SmartGrowth got some things wrong in its first iteration because it was not properly funded – and the local body politicians of the day had little understanding of things like strategy and planning.

'We still have people on council who don't agree with SmartGrowth,” says John. 'You can disagree with the decision that's made, but to disagree with strategic planning? It's a nonsense.

'Getting that planning right is important. If the planning goes wrong, the option isn't ‘let's do no planning' or ‘let's do less planning'. The option is ‘let's do better planning'.”

SmartGrowth is an amalgamated committee formed in 2004 to find solutions to rapid growth in the Western Bay of Plenty region, extending from Waihi Beach to Ōtamarākau.

It takes in 2289 km2, with all of the land within the administrative areas of Tauranga City and the Western Bay of Plenty District, including the regional council administrative area relating to the city and district and the relevant portion of the Coastal Marine Area.

SmartGrowth established a single growth blueprint, identified the future growth areas as well as the infrastructure and funding requirements to enable their development.

In 2013, SmartGrowth changed from a growth management plan into a spatial plan involving the community and harnessing the collective impact of local government, iwi, business, central government agencies, key industries and the community.