A new public space in Ohope will be officially opened today at 1pm.

The Bob Byrne Reserve is to the east of the Seascape Subdivision at Port and recognises the significant contributions made by former Mayor and Borough and District councillor Bob Byrne to the wider community.

Mayor Tony Bonne (left) and former Mayor and long-time Whakatane Borough and District Councillor Bob Byrne (right). Photo: Supplied.

Bob Byrne himself will be making a speech at the ceremony alongside the current Mayor, Tony Bonne. The ceremony will include a number of family-orientated activities.

Mayor Bonne says a reserve in this location had been earmarked as early as 2006, during the development of the Port Ohope Concept Plan, with public consultation showing a desire from stakeholders and community members to maintain a green corridor running from the harbour to the ocean.

'It was the sale and development of the land for the Seascape Subdivision that instigated the process for establishing a public reserve in this location,” he says.

'The design was based on the initial Port Ohope Concept Plan and was undertaken by Opus International Consultants, with construction and improvements completed in 2015, with the assistance of Fulton Hogan and the Good Garden Company.”

Bob was a councillor on the former Whakatane Borough Council from 1971-1976 including three years as deputy mayor.

His final three years of being an elected member of the District Council between 1976 to 1989 he was mayor.

His leadership saw him through the Edgecumbe earthquake of 1987 as well as committed service to a number of local clubs and societies over the years.