Tauranga City Council's Open Space Strategy includes preserving a diverse and abundant range of quality open space experiences.

This is defined as areas of land or water the public has a level of free physical or visual access and includes green spaces such as (inter alia) parks, reserves, transport corridors, urban spaces, green belt areas and blue spaces such as the harbour coast streams and rivers.

The area beside Takatimu Drive is patently such an area which provides part of the open space network and provides a multiple range of user objectives – not to mention an attractive approach to our city.

The vision, as articulated in the Open Space Strategy, states an aim of: ‘Protecting, enhancing and developing a network of open spaces for people to appreciate and enjoy'.

It is not appropriate for the council now to sell/develop/profit from these areas, which in many cases have been provided for in the subdivisional consents requiring such land to be set aside.

The Phoenix carpark is such an area, which is constantly being utilised by community groups and is part of the streetscape also provided for in the Open Space Strategy providing places for people to meet and enjoy the local amenities of community and cultural group opportunities.

It's inappropriate to sell off such areas of land for profit and in effect to negate its own policy and duty to provide such recreational and visual networks.

R E Stephens, Mount Maunganui