Progress towards a better Rotorua for all – First 100 days
16 January 2023
Progress towards a better Rotorua for all – First 100 days
Statement from Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell
Today marks 100 days since the 2022 local election. Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell reflects on what the new Council has delivered so far.
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As we begin the New Year it is timely that we review what we, as your new Council, have delivered in our first 100 days.
We now have an exit strategy for emergency housing. We achieved this through the signing of the Rotorua Housing Accord with Government and Iwi. This is our commitment to work together towards better housing and social outcomes for Rotorua.
So far 20 motels have stopped being used for emergency housing and there are 223 less people having to live in motels.
A comprehensive Council regulatory approach to motels being used for emergency housing is underway to ensure things cannot go back to how they were.
Fenton Street has improved significantly, and antisocial issues in the CBD have reduced.
We’ve made our community safer by working with Police on increased visibility, sharing of resources, and continue to develop a long term community safety strategy for our district in collaboration with Police.
We removed a section of the Green Corridor and reinstated 29 car parks to better support businesses in the CBD.
The sale of reserves was stopped and these remain as green spaces for families to enjoy.
The revitalisation of the Rotorua Aquatic Centre got off to a smashing start and we look forward to delivering the finished product to our community.
We have improved financial management and have frozen significant spending decisions to allow for additional Council scrutiny. Enhanced reporting and project management systems are also now in place to ensure the organisation delivers better value for money for our community.
We set new Council priorities for 2022 – 2025 and council spending will now be evaluated against these priorities - community, infrastructure, housing, and economy.
Two new Committees have been established - the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, and the Community and District Development Committee. Both will deal with the development and monitoring of strategy, policy and action plans related to their relevant areas.
To top this summer off we successfully hosted two major events, Six60 and Crankworx and we will soon be hosting the NRL Harvey Norman All-Stars Māori vs Indigenous Games which is the first time it’s been outside of Australia.
Our city has been busy as ever this holiday season with visitors taking the opportunity to explore the many things Rotorua has to offer.
Rotorua we are moving in a positive direction.
We look forward to delivering even more for our Rotorua community in the exciting year ahead with many positive new developments just around the corner.