Tauranga City's Transformation committee is recommending council take up a 'Green Necklace” around the CBD as part of the revised City Centre Spatial Framework.

The green necklace is a five kilometre circuit of the Te Papa peninsula that encircles the city and linking together existing public open spaces.

Four distinct sections work together to form a legible loop that links existing public open spaces at the Tauranga Domain, The Elms, The Redoubt, and city centre waterfront.

The spatial plan was last updated in 2015. While City Transformation Committee members are keen to talk about the green necklace aspect of the city spatial plan, chair Larry Baldock says it doesn't mean the current council also endorses other aspects of the spatial plan, like a passenger train station on The Strand or a sports stadium on The Domain.

'There are some things that might send the wrong signal,” says Larry. 'I just wanted to make sure it is clear that this is an ongoing process. We are not endorsing this draft. We are endorsing the process for the draft to be completed in order to go for further consultation.”

Mayor Greg Brownless says the spatial plan is a way of sorting directions.

'When you are considering changes you have to know where you are going, and you have got to consider the things you are going to do, things that you may do, and things that you probably won't do – and work out where those things are going to go - so that when you do anything at all you don't sort of prejudice other things that may be happening, so you are getting the best use of the space,” says Greg.

'From that point of view I think it is an essential thing to do, and some of those things I would echo the comments of the chair.

'They certainly aren't on my list of things to do but I'm not the only person here and there are other people who will want to do some of those things have them all listed. If people had done that 50 years ago we probably wouldn't have some of the planning issues that we have now.

'It's about looking into that future and thinking, ‘what possibly could happen?' I think it's a logical thing to do that and at least have an idea where we are going, even if some of those things I don't personally support don't ever actually happen.

'You can't go wrong with that green open space though, the concept of the green necklace will never become jaded.”