Tauranga’s racecourse course could stay put provided the land isn’t needed for a new hospital.

Tauranga City Council commissioners will consider new options for the future of the Tauranga Racecourse reserve on Monday.

The Greerton Maarawaewae Study was established to look at the best future use of the 85 hectares of crown reserve land as the city grows.

The three years of work included three phases of community engagement, consultation and hearings in conjunction with mana whenua and the current lease holders, Racing Tauranga and the Tauranga Golf Club.

The commission will be presented with the revised “Community Plus” option, which takes into account Te Whatu Ora’s interest in potentially using some of the site for health services.

The health authority is working on a business case on future site options for Tauranga Hospital that is expected to be completed in July 2024.

If the site is needed for a hospital then the report recommends Option A ‘heath and recreation’ to be taken forward by the Crown.  If the site is not required for health purposes, Option C - ‘enhanced status quo’, will be taken forward, with the racecourse retained alongside ongoing recreation and wider community enhancements.

Option A would see the racecourse relocated to make way for health services and recreation facilities. Image: Tauranga City Council.

Option A included a public hospital, parkland, sports fields, golf, and connections to the Kopurererua Valley below.

Option C retained the racecourse and golf course and added an indoor sports facility, sports fields, a playground and connections to the valley.

Racing Tauranga chairman Carl McComb says retaining the reserve as a greenspace was a “good win for the community”.

“Enhanced status quo is ideal for us and we [Racing Tauranga] hope that transpires into an extension of our tenure there.”

The racing club and golf club have leases until 2039. The council report recommended a new lease for the golf club with conditions around greater community access and links to Kopurererua Valley.

Racing Tauranga’s lease is dependent on Te Whatu Ora’s decision. If the racecourse needed to be relocated a potential site has been identified but not revealed because of “commercial sensitivities”.

Racing Tauranga chairman Carl McComb says it's a comfort there is a future for racing in the Bay of Plenty. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

McComb says: “It’s a comfort to know that there is a future for racing in the region.”

Asked if it was a concern that it was another year before a decision could be made, McComb replied: “It's taken this long so what's another year, and we'll carry on racing.”

One of the earlier options for the reserve included housing but this was removed after strong opposition from the community and mana whenua, who wanted the land to retain its reserve status.

Mana whenua, Ngāi Tamarāwaho hapū representatives lodged a claim via the Treaty of Waitangi Act in February 2022.  

Hapū representative Buddy Mikaere told Local Democracy Reporting if the reserve status of the land were to change that would trigger the claim.

“We're [Ngāi Tamarāwaho] looking to have a direct conversation with Te Whatu Ora and we want to be included in their future plans.

“If they [Te Whatu Ora] go out there, it's still going to involve a change in the status of the land, in which case our treaty claim will kick in.”

Ngāi Tamarāwaho representative Buddy Mikaere says the hapū wants to be involved in future plans if the site were to used for health services. File photo/SunLive.

Mikaere, who is also a Racing Tauranga board member, says he was “very pleased” with the wider community response that they wanted the greenspace retained.

Phase three of community engagement in July 2022 attracted 897 submissions. Enhanced status quo received 548 submissions in support, health and recreation attracted 201 and the now defunct option of central park had 128 submissions.

Three days of public hearings were held in May.

Commission Chair Anne Tolley says, in a statement, the community conversation was focused on ideas for use of the reserve land in the next 10 to 50 years and also on providing certainty to existing user groups for the coming years.

“We greatly appreciate the constructive way the existing user groups have engaged with us during this process and for sharing information with, and encouraging feedback from, their members.”

The Tauranga City Council meeting will be held at 9.30am on Monday August 14. It is open to the public and will also be live streamed.

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