A hapū led native nursery could be set up on unused reserve land north of Katikati to help regenerate forest and reserves in the area.

Ngati Te Wai hapū have been granted a licence to occupy 2119m2 of land at Tahawai Reserve for the nursery. The reserve makes up part of the hapū's whenua.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council approved the five year licence 'in principle” at a meeting on Monday.

It will be subject to consultation with the community, other local hapū and the Katikati Community board before final sign off from the council.

Council reserves and facilities manager Peter Watson said the nursery was 'a good opportunity” and it was using a 'backwater” part of the reserve.

The land, at the corner of State Highway 2 and Tanners Point Rd, has been vacant for many years and was previously used for grazing, said Watson's report to council.

The licence to occupy would be subject to a 'small amount of rental” with the cost not yet specified, the report said.

Watson told the meeting the council was approached by Riki Nelson of Kaimai Kauri, supported by Ngati Te Wai, about using the land as a native nursery.

Kaimai Kauri is a hapū led environmental organisation that works in biosecurity, kauri protection and with the district council, and Bay of Plenty Regional Council doing restoration work.

Kaimai Kauri general manager Riki Nelson said: 'Having the nursery is to deliver on our [the hapū's] aspirations of restoration of all our reserves all around our rohe, working with our partners as well.”

Nelson said one of the partners is the volunteer run environmental group, Project Parore, who have a small native nursery in Katikati.

'They're at capacity with their nursery. So the conversation with them is they target specific native species with their nursery. If we can get another nursery up and running, then we can focus on other native species.”

He said they had also been working with the Tanners Point Ratepayers Association and both of their aspirations for the site 'almost aligned perfectly”.

The portion of the reserve that would be used for the nursery is in yellow. Image: WBOPDC.

Councillor Margaret Murray Benge said the 'project sounds good” and asked how many young men and woman would be trained up through the project.

Nelson replied they were looking at about three people to support the site.

Councillor Allan Sole spoke in support of the project: 'I believe that this is an opportunity for us to encourage people in the community to go out there and do things of use.

'This has environmental … benefits to it. It has potential maybe, for employment in other areas.”

Speaking after the meeting, Nelson said the areas they were looking to restore were north of Katikati including Tahawai Reserve, Tuapiro Point and Kauri Point.

They wanted to return Tahawai Reserve to a community site and the nursery would be run as a non-profit venture, he said.

The seeds used for the nursery would also be 'eco-sourced” and replanted back into the reserves within a 5km radius of where they were harvested from, said Nelson.

Asked how it felt to get the council's support for the project, Nelson replied: 'Really good, because we have had a tense relationship in the past.”

'But now we are moving into a period where we're starting to collaborate together on some big projects.

'We are really, really happy with the relationship with Western Bay [District Council], they're supporting us with a whole heap of our aspirations.”

Consultation on the licence to occupy Tahawai Reserve will run for a month and Watson said it would begin in the 'next couple of weeks”.

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