Taupō District Council will use money raised by the successful sale of commercial sections in its Crown Road Industrial Estate to pay down debt.

Council developed 19 commercial lots on the East Urban Lands at Crown Road in Taupō and offered these for sale in July 2025. To date, nine lots have sold.

Normally money raised from property sales is redirected back into council’s strategic property reserve, which is a fund held by council and used to repay development-related borrowing. Once borrowing has been repaid, any leftover money is kept in the fund and used as needed for future property purchases or development. A recent example of this is the council’s contribution to the redevelopment of the Taupō Airport terminal building. This approach helps ensure the value of the fund, which is for specifically for strategic property, is maintained and not run down.

The council has made good financial returns from the sale of the Crown Road Industrial Estate. Given the financial pressure the council and ratepayers are currently under, councillors have supported a proposal to provide a tangible return to ratepayers by redirecting some of that money towards paying off debt. This will reduce council’s annual interest costs by around $200,000 per annum and possibly more if interest rates rise as forecast. This saving has already been accounted for in the draft Annual Plan.

Council’s net debt stands at $92 million and the majority of the $5 million debt repayment will be used to reduce loans against community facilities. These include toilets, cemeteries and erosion control projects, sportsgrounds, district libraries and museum, swimming pools (including Turtle Pool) and Taupō Events Centre.

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