Museum given green light for Tauranga

Friday, 22 December 2017

Rob Hicks shows off a 10-year-old model he made of the proposed Tauranga Historical Precinct, which includes the proposed museum.

After 10 years of debate Tauranga City Council has voted to approve a $20.65 million museum project in the long term plan for public consultation.

Council voted 10 to 2 to approve the museum at Cliff Road on top of the buried Omanawa Pa site. Several councillors were not supportive of the museum design and operating costs but voted in favour of the proposal to allow consultation to occur.

The $20.65 million price tag reflects only 37.1 per cent of the total spend with the remainder hoping to be raised through external funding.

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The prospect of Tauranga having a museum has divided the community. A Neighbourly.co.nz poll about whether a museum should be considered saw 493 responded with 78 per cent giving a firm no as their response.

Council staff surveyed 403 people prior to making their decision to approve the museum and found only 41 per cent were willing to pay for a museum.

During consultation it was revealed the Cliff Road site will likely be a more expensive option but chair of the Chairman of the Tauranga Moana Trust Committee Ngati Pukenga said the cultural significance of the location would add more cultural value and make the museum iconic.

'We need a modern museum that will be the focal point of our community,' he said.

'As a storage house for our taonga, an education facility for our children as a destination for tourists as a celebration of our lifestyle and has a hub that connects us better to the many historical sites in the region.'

Council also approved the recommendation to construct a $25 million Library in Willow Street which will also go out for public consultation.

Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless said he is pleased to see these facilities up for discussion in the Long Term Plan.

'This is a rare opportunity to create two unique community spaces that will make a huge contribution to Tauranga,' he said.

'Since the public consultation in 2015 on Civic Space Options, we have known there is a real groundswell of support for new, engaging and exciting cultural facilities. Today we have made a major step forward for this to happen.

'We look forward to hearing from the community during the submission process, and understanding community perspectives as we consider these important investment decisions,' said Mayor Brownless.

Chair of the Transformation committee Larry Baldock said he whole-heartingly supports the museum. 'I think if we do it right we will all be proud of it. There will be many challenges but resolve those as we come to it. We've gone through all the material recommended by committee to majority of the committee.

'It goes out now for public consultation there is much more opportunity to have an input.'