Plans to enhance a beautiful piece of city-owned land in Titahi Bay are kicking off with community discussions on what people would like to see at the beach-side property.

The land at 19 and 21 Bay Drive consists of a total of 7747m2 including native bush, and large flat areas that overlook Titahi Bay beach.

Council General Manager City Growth and Partnerships Steven Perdia, says this strategic land provides an opportunity to enhance Titahi Bay and surrounds as a place for locals and regional visitors to enjoy.

“Currently this land is not open for public use and we’d like to make it accessible and safe for everyone to enjoy. We’ve identified a set of principles to guide how we could develop the land and we’re keen to hear what the community and city think. Then we’ll add to or amend these principles following feedback.”

The principles for feedback are:
• The land is open for the community to use
• Protection of the environment and the ecology is important
• The cultural heritage and history of the site is acknowledged
• There is good access for all so everyone can enjoy the spaces
• People want to come here – Titahi Bay is a destination of choice
• The community has a say in what will happen with this land.
“We also want feedback on the principle of cost neutrality and whether the community agrees with enabling private sector development to occur on part of the site to keep any rates contributions down. This would help fund the public sector improvements, and could be further offset by government grants or funding.”
Mr Perdia says at the moment, any associated costs aren’t included in Council’s Long-term Plan 2018-38 (LTP). Feedback will help feed into decision-making during the review of this LTP in 2020.

“Consulting on these principles is a first step, what happens next will depend on the feedback and the Council’s decisions on how to proceed.”

The formal engagement runs until late May and includes a drop-in session on the site at Bay Drive on Saturday 18 May from 11am-2pm. You can also have your say online at https://survey.publicvoice.co.nz/s3/titahibayweb. To find out more go to pcc.govt.nz and search key word “Bay Drive”.

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