Tauranga City Council, Ngāti Hangarau and Tourism Bay of Plenty have together established a co-design plan with the aim of creating safe access to the Omanawa Falls.

There is currently no public access to Omanawa Falls and access to the bottom of the falls has never been open to the public.

The falls have been closed to the public for some time, but recent discussions around safety were prompted following the death of a man in January.

At the time of the fatal incident, then acting mayor Tina Salisbury said "for locals and visitors alike there are other beautiful waterfalls in our region that are well worth visiting, no matter what you may have seen online or heard, Omanawa Falls is closed to the public because it is extremely dangerous".

The Omanawa Falls in the Kaimai Range near Tauranga can only be accessed by climbing down a hazardous cliff face. The falls have always been closed to the public due to safety concerns.

In 2018, one person drowned at the falls, in addition to a number of people getting seriously injured getting to the falls or having to be rescued over the years.

But danger signs attempting to keep people away from the site - both locals and tourists - have been ignored for a number of years, as seen by the thousands of pictures posted on social media of the scenic waterfall.

This has prompted Tauranga City Council, Ngāti Hangarau and Tourism Bay of Plenty to come up with a way of making the falls safe to access.

Features of the largely agreed design include a viewing platform, upgraded track, as well as supporting infrastructure such as carparking and public toilets.

Image: Tauranga City Council.

Director of Spaces and Places, Paul Dunphy says it's significant to reach an agreed co-design with Ngāti Hangarau who were equal partners in creating physically and culturally appropriate access. The next step is to apply for resource consent.

'We expect to apply for resource consent in April 2021. This will outline all the key aspects of the project, particularly in regard to the design, timeline and the level of activity anticipated after the project is complete. We will also be talking to local Omanawa residents who are directly affected by this development as part of this consultation and engagement process.

'We remain committed to reopening the Omanawa Falls but only when it is safe to do so, with full consideration being given to the historical, cultural and environmental significance of this special site.

'Until this time, please do not visit this location. If you hear of a friend planning to go, please tell them not to visit as it is incredibly dangerous. Multiple people have seriously injured themselves to the extent they have required Search and Rescue services and there has sadly been two fatalities."

Commissioners recently approved the budget allocation for the Omanawa Falls project of $3.5 million to go into the draft 2021-2031 Long Term Plan.

Project milestones:
-Late 2019 project group established
-2020 developed and agreed project scope
-Second half 2020 began design process
-Dec 2020 Kaitiaki/educators began at Omanawa Falls front entrance
Early 2021 agree and share design
-April 2021 seek necessary consents for site development
-2021 begin construction

The Omanawa Falls area is in the rohe of Ngāti Hangarau and for this reason Tauranga City Council is partnering directly with Ngāti Hangarau on the design and development of this site.