Community

On this page:

• Engaging the community

• Student resources

• Public story campaign

• Have you got a story to tell?

• Read stories

Engaging the community

The Tauranga Eastern Link will impact on many communities, businesses and individuals. The Transport Agency has a responsibility to understand and respond to the needs of those affected, so engaging with them is an integral part of this project.

Our partners

Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Tauranga City Council

Cultural partners

Tangata whenua (five hapu and three iwi) and their representatives have been involved in consultation on this project for many years. A special group called the Tauranga Eastern Link Tangata Whenua Advisory Group have been involved in setting the protocols and cultural requirements for this project. These include:

• Archaeological monitoring especially at the Pa site U14220-Pa by the Kaituna River (the state highway was moved to avoid this).

• Establish cultural and archeological protocols for the construction period.

• Ensure NZ Historic Places Trust procedures are adhered to.

The Tauranga Eastern Link Community Liaison Group

The Tauranga Eastern Link Community Liaison Group has been specifically formed to enable the community to discuss project related concerns with the project team, be kept up-to-date on project progress, and pass information back to their interest groups.

The TEL is the Bay of Plenty's largest ever roading project and to make it a success the Transport Agency encourages community involvement and the opportunity for feedback. The TEL Community Liaison Group representatives include:

• Papamoa College - Dave Ballard

• Te Puke Fast Forward and Federated Farmers - Richard Powdrell

• Focus Te Puke - Mark Boyle

• Comvita - Julie Chadwick and Brett Hewlett

• Kiwi 360 - Graeme Crossman

• NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc - Mike Chapman

• Papamoa Progressive - Ken Masters

• Te Puke Community Board - Peter Miller

• Maketu Community Board – Gus Cantlon and Shane Beech

• Te Puke High School – David Crone

• Paengaroa Community Association Inc - Linda Ross

• Pukehina Ratepayers Association - Ian Rodger

• Cycle Action Tauranga - Kevin Connole

• Bus and Coach Association - Neil Jamieson

• Road Transport Association - Charlene Kerr

• WBOP Motorcycle Association / ACC - Carole Fleming

• Te Puke Environment Forum - Gael Blaymires

• Members of the TEL Transport Agency, Beca, and Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction Alliance project teams 

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Student resources

The following material is provided to help Year 13 Geography students complete their 'Decision Making' unit. Below you will find information about the Tauranga Eastern Link suite of designations gained for the entire route over many years as well as numerous resource consents gained from the Regional Council and Tauranga City Council.

Designations are for the protection of a corridor of land in the District Plans of the local authorities – in this case Tauranga City Council and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council. Resource consents gain approval for the detail of the activity based on more detailed design. 

Tauranga Eastern Link – Resource Management Act process

When completed, the Tauranga Eastern Link will be a 23 kilometre, four laned highway. It begins at Te Maunga (near Baypark Stadium) in Tauranga and follows its existing route to the Domain Road intersection with State Highway 2 at Papamoa. It then leaves the current state highway route and crosses rural land parallel to Tara Road, across Parton Road and along the sandhills to the Kaituna River at the end of Bell Road. At this point the highway crosses the river and carries on past the Kaituna Wildlife Management Reserve. It heads south east across dairy farms and orchard lots before rising up over the railway line to join the existing junction of State Highways 2 and 33 (the Rotorua and Whakatane highways) near Paengaroa.

Under the Resource Management Act the Tauranga Eastern Motorway (as referred to in the documentation) has gone through two sets of approval processes, they are:

1: Designations

There are four designations in the District Plans of the Tauranga City Council and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council. Below are copies of the approvals including the conditions. For information on environmental issues, stakeholders and the process, read the Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) referred to below.

1. Addendum to Designation by TCC for Bell Road interchange(external link) (PDF, 13.27 MB - large file)

2. Final decision - Tauranga Eastern Arterial Designation(external link) (PDF, 29.35 MB - large file)

3. TEA Designation of SH2 - TEA & Bell Road V1(external link) (PDF, 56.86 MB - large file)

4. TEA Designation of SH2 - TEA & Bell Road V2(external link) (PDF, 41.03 MB - large file)

5. TEA Designation of SH2 - TEA & Bell Road V3(external link) (PDF, 16.41 MB - large file)

In addition, after the specimen design and final design a range of minor alternations to the designation have been gained. They are not provided in this website.

2: Resource consents

Resource consents have been gained from the Regional Council and Tauranga City Council. We provide below copies of the decisions, including conditions by the councils.

1. Main Contract resource consents for earthworks, storm water management , bridging and water take(external link) (PDF, 32.51MB - large file)

2. Mangatawa catchment consents for earthworks, storm water management(external link) (PDF, 64.81MB - large file)

3. Land use consent at Te Maunga wetlands(external link) (PDF, 4.07MB)

Source documents

All of the following source documents are available in hard copy. To view, please contact us(external link).

Consultation

As part of the public consultation programme newsletters were produced to highlight the issues and often to advertise public open days in the community. In addition, many other meetings and hui have been undertaken with interested parties and they are summarised in the relevant Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) above.

Key environmental issues

• Protection of the Kaituna Wildlife Reserve for birdwatching and hunting
• Protection of the Kaituna Drainage Scheme that serves the farms
• Storm water management from the road to ensure treatment
• Re-organisation of farms and orchards that are bisected by the highway
• Protection of Pa Site
• The level of noise generated and how to mitigate that for people living close to the road
• Work on protocols with tangata whenua to appropriately manage any archaeological material uncovered
• In the west alternate safer access for houses that are adjacent to the highway

Stakeholders

Refer to the Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) for each designation and resource consent. Available in hard copy. See the list above and links.

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Public story campaign

Telling stories is a special way for our community to share what's special to them about the area and connect them with the Tauranga Eastern Link project.

About the Tauranga Eastern Link public story campaign

Through the public story campaign the Transport Agency hope to connect the Bay of Plenty community with the Tauranga Eastern Link project, by having them share their stories, memories and history of the area. Telling stories is a special way of capturing what's special about the area and what is valued by those who have special ties with it.

The theme ‘journeys’ has been identified for the campaign to help provoke ideas for stories.

The objectives of the campaign are: 

• Engagement and connection with the Bay of Plenty community.

• Openness and sharing of personal stories, history and memories.

• Identification of potential route features, locations, and what is valued in the area.

• Provide inspiration for urban design and potentially influence physical design.

• Provide information and material for a commemorative publication that will capture the Tauranga Eastern Link journey and feature a selection of stories.  

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Have you got a story to tell?

What ‘journey’ can you share that captures a special moment in time or memory for you?

As the 23km highway stretches over rural pasture and through orchards, including areas rich in cultural history, the landscape will be significant to many, and be part of many lives.

Telling stories is a special way of capturing what's special about this area and what is valued by those who have special ties with it.

What story can you share that captures a special journey, moment in time or memory for you?

If you'd like to share your ‘journey’ the Tauranga Eastern Link project team would love to hear from you. We are interested in both historic and contemporary stories.

Some story ideas for the ‘journey’ theme:

1.  Journeys to New Zealand and the area

• Tangata whenua - journey to this land

• Legends

• Pakeha and European ancestor journeys

2.  Journeys within the area

• Tangata whenua migration

• Building of the original road from Te Puke to Tauranga

• Kaituna journeys alongside and within the river passage

3.  Journeys during colonisation and settlement

• Missionaries - along the coast, travels inland

• The 1850s and 1860s

4.  Journeys post settlement

• Gold mining at Te Puke

• People settling after building the road

• Breaking in the land

Details

Share your special journey, moment in time or memory here.

• Please limit to 200 words.
• Recorded/dictaphone entries up to 10 minutes.
• Photos welcome.
• Stories will remain the property of the Transport Agency and may be published (online/print), and used for promotional purposes.
• Some stories will be used in a book or commemorative piece to capture, protect and preserve what's unique and special to the area. It will be published upon completion of the road.
• All stories will help provide inspiration for unique characteristics along the Tauranga Eastern Link.

Choose an option to send your stories in:

• By email: taurangaeasternlink@nzta.govt.nz - attach documents and scanned images 

• By post: NZ Transport Agency, Tauranga Eastern Link, PO Box 430, Tauranga 3140.

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Read stories

Find here the special journeys, moments in time and memories that have been shared.

• A bit of history of ‘Te Repo o Kaituna’ Reserve [PDF, 31 KB] 
• The kite, by L. Cooper [PDF, 59 KB] 

Thank you to those who have shared their special stories.

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