We want to help our community get access to affordable housing for years to come

We’re proposing to invest in a Housing Equity Fund with the funds acquired from selling elder housing villages. Seven elder housing villages were sold to Kāinga Ora in 2022, and two remaining villages previously used for elder housing, Pitau Road village and Hinau Street village in Mount Maunganui, are being sold for private redevelopment.

Housing supply is a priority to us, and we want to know what you think about our proposal to invest the sale proceeds into a Housing Equity Fund to deliver affordable housing in Tauranga.

For more information and to share your thoughts visit: letstalk.tauranga.govt.nz/housing-proceeds Consultation closes 5pm, Wednesday 21 June e pontoon project has been in the pipeline since 2016, says master rower and project manager, Charlie Burns and was raised due to safety concerns.

It will be the rst of its kind on a Bay of Plenty river and will open a raft of opportunity for water-based recreation in the coming year.

Bay of Plenty Coast Rowing Club is on a mission to create a pontoon for rowing boats, canoes and the community on the Wairoa River.

“At the moment we’ve got kind of a slippery muddy bank that we go down and launch the boats from a little beach,” says Charlie.

“I’ve fallen over on the [bank] carrying a boat – so originally the idea was because we need a safer way to get down to the water so people don’t hurt themselves.”

For everyone e whole project will include a concrete slipway for coach boats, a ramp and pontoon for rowing boats, and retaining to secure the riverbank.

“ e pontoon is to make the river accessible to recreational water users, so it’s not just for us.

“We’ve got a canoe crew up there, people like to swim there in the summer so anybody will be able to use it.” e pontoon itself will be about four metres wide and 20 metres long, says Charlie. “ e whole thing costs just under $525,000. It’s unbelievable.”