Mount Maunganui residents and visitors have told Tauranga City Council that improving air quality, and making it easy and safe to get around, are key as the area grows.
Council has been consulting with the community on the draft 30-year plan for the area between Mount Maunganui and Arataki.
Commission chair Anne Tolley says Mount Maunganui is growing fast and that needs to be balanced with retaining the town's history and relaxed beach vibe.
"There will be changes, but we will respect where we've come from and what people love about the mount, while focusing on the practical needs of our community, supporting business and industry, and enhancing our natural environment," she says in a statement.
The draft plan will be presented to council in early 2024.
Council also noted the density that might arise from government changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Under the plan, building heights in downtown Mount Maunganui could rise. Heights of six storeys could be allowed in the shopping area and within 400 metres of it, then four storeys between 400-800m of the shops.
Some residents and businesses raised concerns about traffic congestion, pollution and a lack of infrastructure at the Tauranga City Council (TCC) Plan Change 33 hearings.
One of New Zealand's worst sites for air pollution is the Mount Maunganui industrial area. Sprawling across 450 hectares of land around the Tauranga Harbour, the industrial zone is home to the country's largest port and 800 businesses. More than 40 of those are known to harm the environment, including the port itself.
Concerns about air pollution in Mount Maunganui first arose in 2015, when a local marae, Whareroa, began to complain about the impacts of sulphur on the whānau who live on its land within the industrial zone.
A report comparing the air quality between the Mount Maunganui residential area, and Otumoetai, which is 5km from the port, found that particulate matter from heavy industry was causing at least 13 additional premature deaths in the Mount each year.
6 comments
My car is.....
Posted on 24-10-2023 09:21 | By Bruja
perpetually covered in a thick layer of gunk. No point in even trying to wash it because it's back the same next day. When there's a shower of rain the thick layer has 'braided rivers' running through it. WE are all BREATHING that!!
Perhaps Sun Media might like to come and photograph it?
Interesting
Posted on 24-10-2023 10:36 | By Let's get real
Is this the NIMBY attitude of the wealthy land owners along the waterfront that we are hearing...? What happens to our city if we don't have labour intensive industry..? It's unfortunate that we have that busiest port in the country. Maybe we should be looking at banning all industrial activities in the city and rely solely on tourism. Never forgetting of course that thousands of tourists come into our port, just to access the activities in nearby Rotorua. There are thousands of locals who rely heavily on the industrial area around the port and all of the support industries that have indirect relationships with the transport and import/export markets. It seems that as a nation we focus on minority issues and forget that we are living extremely well. Unfortunately, Tauranga can't exist as a retirement village with pretty views, it needs industry and the port.
Consulted who
Posted on 24-10-2023 12:44 | By an_alias
Come on, you consult know one apart from your buddies.
If people don't agree you ignore.....just a farce
Nope I don’t agree
Posted on 24-10-2023 18:45 | By Naysay
Even the wealthy waterfront individuals are getting sick. No washing goes out now . We are covered in rashes and if we open our windows we have to wipe black soot off the sills. We have our eyes checked and the damage is irreversible.
Kids are vomiting got no reason -it's a very real problem and yes we can survive with no industrial sector in the Mount.we want rid of it.
Not Good
Posted on 25-10-2023 06:44 | By Thats Nice
Something has changed since I lived in the Mount. Having a thick layer of gunk on your car every day shows there is muck in the air which folk are obviously breathing in regardless of how much money you have or haven't (silly statement). A sample should of been taken and tested in a lab to establish or disestablish the possible safety risks. The industries now spewing out this rubbish need to move elsewhere where theres no residential housing - end of and have to ask, how and why are these business's allowed to continue to further pollute the air in "one of the worst polluted areas in NZ"? C'mon sort it out.
BOPRC need to look after us.
Posted on 25-10-2023 09:51 | By Lucky_Luke
Necessary industry should stay in the area to realise the benefits of being near the port, but they should control their discharges, ensuring nothing bad leaves their site. The issue is the weak resource consents and lack of action by BOPRC. BOPRC doesn’t seem to monitor air quality effectively or share the results transparently. I wonder if they don’t do it well as they hold large shareholdings in Port of Tauranga via Quayside Holdings? Perhaps BOPRC could get some help monitoring air quality from NIWA’s “Community air” programme. Come on SunLive, let’s see some quality investigative journalism….
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