Andrew von Dadelszen Former Regional Councillor

Reading the feedback as a result of the community consultation for the Smartgrowth Strategic Review, I worry that staff will place too much weight on emotive issues, rather than following good science.

The file note of the Priority One Board consultation meeting (for example) contended that a key priority is the protection of productive land. This is an example of a highly emotive consideration, whereas the science will tell you that New Zealand urban development accounts for less than two per cent of our productive land, and that in fact the trade-off of developing our better contoured land will far outweigh any production losses. I just can't agree that the Western Bay (for instance) should be encouraging development on the steep (and potentially eroding) Minden Hill area, in preference to some of our better contoured land.

A huge issue going forward will be the cost of infrastructure. The provision of both drinking and waste water for the expanding Western Bay population is posing a huge financial burden on already strained balance sheets for both Western Bay of Plenty District and Tauranga City Council. The old adage that 'growth pays for growth” just won't cut it going forward, and our territorial authorities need to show a lot more innovation if we are to accommodate growth. In the eight years since Smartgrowth was instigated technology changes have halved the cost for many waste water systems, so what was appropriate then is not necessarily so today. This highlights the issue of 20 to 50 year planning - it is great (and essential) for the ‘big picture' stuff, but Smartgrowth needs to retain flexibility to take advantage of technological change.

Smartgrowth's biggest success has been its collaborative approach, but it is a non-statutory document and is really constrained by the fact that our Tauranga City and Western Bay District Council both must comply with the Regional Council's Regional Policy Statement. This just highlights the urgency to get the discussion on local government amalgamation officially on the table for the Western Bay. We just have to get the cost of bureaucracy down, and this will benefit all ratepayers.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me at [email protected] , or visit www.vond.co.nz