Community and District Development Committee meeting wrap
Inner city community hub to be up and running soon.
Councillors received an update on the development of the Community Safety Plan and initiatives currently underway or to be implemented over the next few months.
Following guidance from elected members, a number of objectives and immediate actions have been identified with priority actions expected to be in place by December 2023.
Immediate actions include:
- Establishing regular meetings between Council, Police and other community partners.
- Establishing and resourcing an inner-city community hub.
- Reviewing the Safe City Guardian role and looking to partners to supplement council’s safety services.
- Improving CCTV network and monitoring – increasing resources to ensure full coverage of the network and improve responsiveness to issues.
- Working with partners and using external funding to improve safety at bus stops and on bus routes.
Longer term decisions will be included in the 2024/2034 Long-term Plan.
Council has secured a lease for a premises close to Te Manawa on Hinemoa Street where the inner-city community hub will be established over coming months. It is expected that the hub will be operating and available to the public by summer. The hub will be a central location where the community can access a range of services, and where council’s safety teams and Police will be visible and available for the inner-city businesses and shoppers.
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Council agrees to change cemetery reserve purpose
Following deliberations, elected members agreed to change the purpose for part of Rotorua Cemetery Reserve from Local Purpose (Cemetery) Reserve to Local Purpose (Community Housing) Reserve, and to grant a ground lease of 30 years to Pukeroa Ōruawhata Trust for the purpose of community housing.
Consultation on the proposal was held over a five week period, with 72 submissions received. The intention of the change of reserve purpose is to enable Pukeroa Ōruawhata Trust on behalf of Ngāti Whakaue to begin investigations into the feasibility of developing housing on the site, while a separate process would be undertaken to officially revoke the classification of the reserve and ultimately return the whenua to Ngāti Whakaue.
Councillors addressed concerns raised in submissions about the potential effects on housing and any future residents from nearby industry and state highways. It was heard that today’s decision was just the first step in the process to understand if housing is possible, and that any effects would need to be carefully considered as part of a Resource Consent process.
For more information about the reserve change proposal and consultation visit www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/cemeteryreservechange
Go to p17 of the meeting agenda to view the report on this matter.
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Road Reserve revocation to support retirement village
Elected members resolved to begin the process to revoke the road reserve status of council owned land at 10 Barnard Road.
The land is currently used as parking for the adjacent accommodation provider and once the revocation and disposal process is complete, will provide additional access to the planned 270-unit Summerset retirement village next door.
The process to revoke the status of the reserve and dispose of the land to Summerset is likely to take a number of years. In the interim, a Licence to Occupy would be issued to Summerset to enable their development to be progressed.
Go to p25 of the meeting agenda to view the full report on this matter.
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Peka Industrial Park development update
Peka Lands Trust chair Helen Beckett and Development Manager Mike Beattie provided an update on progress happening at Peka Industrial Park in development south of Rotorua.
Situated between State Highway 30 and State Highway 5, the property will see initial development of 36 hectares over four stages. Elected members heard that earthworks on Stage 1 (approximately 13 hectares) are expected to begin later this month, subject to Resource Consent approval, and all development on the first stage is expected to be finalised by mid-2024.
The development has a strong focus on environmental protection, ensuring that the development includes the protection and enhancement of the waterways and wetlands on the whenua, and a comprehensive on-site stormwater management system.
So far, market interest has been positive with at least 50% of stage 1 in negotiations for leases. The prospective tenants are a mix of local businesses looking to relocate from their current locations due to growth, and businesses from out of town looking to establish themselves in Rotorua to service the forestry and farming industry.
Council is using the market interest to gauge requirements and timing for infrastructure investment to support the park’s development as well as other industrial zoned land in the area.
To find out more about the Peka Industrial Park visit peka.nz
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Also on the agenda
- Elected members received a breakdown and comparison of the public housing data collected by Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Social Development and RotoruaNZ.
The Rotorua Housing Accord dashboards can be found here.
The RotoruaNZ Accommodation Dashboard can be found here.
Go directly to this part of the meeting recording via this link. - Community & District Development group update
- Culture, Heritage & Mahi Toi group update
Go to p29 of the meeting agenda to view the report on this matter.
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Go to p37 of the meeting agenda to view the report on this matter.
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