Rotorua Lakes Council’s Community and District Development Committee will next week consider supporting the strategic retention of council-owned land at Titoki Place for potential conversion to sportsfields.
A 2019 decision to sell the land at 8 Titoki Place to Kāinga Ora for housing was conditional on compliance with the Council’s Land Disposals Policy and the conditions of sale cannot be met due to high development costs, risk and consequential land valuation implications, a report to the Committee notes, Council said in a statement today.
“The Committee is being asked to support the strategic retention of the land and to direct staff to undertake work to understand the full cost of its development for sportsfields, for consideration as part of the 2024-34 Long-term Plan,” it stated.
“Council purchased the 3.89 hectare site, which adjoins Ray Boord Park, from the Crown in January 2000 for the purpose of providing additional sporting facilities. The land has been used to stockpile removed fill from sports facility developments and in 2019 the then Council approved its disposal to Kāinga Ora, by Private Treaty, for the strategic objective of providing land for social housing.”
A 2023 assessment of council sports facilities identified a capacity shortfall of at least 29 hours per week, which is expected to increase, the Council said.
“Based on the identified high cost and risk in developing the land for residential housing, the consequential impact on the value of the land, and the need to increase the capacity of Council’s existing sportfields network, it is recommended that the land at 8 Titoki Place be retained for the future development of sportsfields.”
