Tauranga City Council’s Commission has welcomed the approach taken by the National-led coalition Government to many of the issues affecting the local government sector and the city itself.

Commission Chair Anne Tolley says the moves signalled by the Government to speed up resource consent processes will help the city address its severe housing shortage, while moves to review other legislation and policies will also benefit the sector.

“The commitment to upgrade SH29 is very positive for Tauranga, as this investment will free-up access across the city, to and from the port of Tauranga, and support the development of some 4000 much-needed homes in Tauriko West,” Anne says. “Added to that, it will also enable hundreds of future jobs in our fast-growing city.”

She adds that the Commission and the Council look forward to working with the Government on a raft of measures which will help Tauranga develop the infrastructure needed to support growth.

“The work being done to investigate and implement city deals is also particularly welcome. This has worked well in Australia and would see local and national Government focus on agreed priorities specifically tailored to the needs of each metropolitan centre,” Anne concludes. “That would facilitate an aligned and streamlined approach to investing in the key projects needed to deal with the infrastructure deficit which is impacting fast-growth cities like Tauranga.”

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