Four options for the future location of schools, a town centre, community hub and recreational reserves will be presented to the Omokoroa community at a public open day in September.

The detailed options are the next phase of the proposed structure plan for the area between the railway line and State Highway 2 which is anticipated to support a community of up to 5000 residents by 2026.

The open day will be hold on Wednesday September 26, with two sessions from 3pm-5pm and 7pm-9pm, in the Omokoroa Community Church on Hamurana Road.

The four alternatives have been created by Western Bay of Plenty District Council's planning team as a result of best practice and community feedback from last November where people were invited to share their views on the Stage Three Structure Plan project.

Council's senior planner Andries Cloete is looking forward to hearing what the Omokoroa community thinks of the four options.

'This is long term thinking. It is important to identify these areas at an early stage to ensure they are easy to get to by all modes of transport and that integrate into both the current and future community.”

Part of this integration is ensuring that movement around Omokoroa is unimpeded and existing roads link with future roads.

'We had a good look at how to improve the accessibility of the area by linking Francis Road with Omokoroa Road and Prole Road respectively. These options will also be presented during the open day,” says Andries.

In addition to schools, retail, community and recreation, the four options show alternative locations for industrial areas and indentify the areas for medium density and rural residential housing.

The public open day follows a session with a key stakeholders- those directly impacted by the proposed options – to be held on September 25.

Following the open day on September 26, the options and other information will be posted on Council's website for comments on haveyoursay.westernbay.govt.nz.

You can also contact either Andries Cloete (07-579 6646) or Phillip Martelli (07-579 6682) for more information on the project.