The Omokoroa community is invited to an information evening next week to find out more about the infrastructure developments taking place across the Omokoroa peninsula over the next two years.

The event, hosted by Western Bay of Plenty District Council, will be held on Wednesday, December 2 from 7pm until 9pm at the Settlers' Hall.

It is estimated that by 2060, the Omokoroa peninsula will be fully developed and home to 12,000 residents.

To cater for this significant growth and the need for continuing improvements to the peninsula's infrastructure, Council is undertaking a series of projects – roading, reserves, cycleways, stormwater, building and planning – between now and 2022.

At the information evening, Council will provide a high-level overview of the various projects, and following the presentation, attendees will be able to ask questions about the specific projects under four key categories – roading, recreation, planning and community.

Western Bay Mayor Garry Webber says the projects will be transformational for the Omokoroa area, future-proofing the town into something all residents can be proud of.

'We want all current and future residents of Omokoroa to be able to benefit from a fantastic quality of life and be able to enjoy a wide variety of facilities, right on their doorstep.

'The projects are the result of sound planning work and reflect the spatial planning that will support all land use development in Omokoroa in the future.

'Additionally, the projects have the potential to create around 150 new jobs for the region,” says Garry.

The first set of projects to kick off include the upgrading of 1.3km of Omokoroa Road from Western Avenue to Tralee Street, the urbanisation of Prole Road, and the replacement of the existing outdated playground on the Domain foreshore with a new destination playground.

Altogether, there are more than 15 Council-initiated projects, along with private development, and which includes collaboration with tangata whenua, Pirirakau hapū; the Ministry of Education; and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

'As is the case with large-scale infrastructure development, there will be some level of disruption in the community during the various construction phases,” says Garry.

'These will be carefully managed to keep impacts to a minimum and we apologise in advance for the disruption.

'However, it's critical that we act now to be able to appropriately cater for the expected growth in Omokoroa long-term.”

The total projects are estimated to cost $50 million, of which $14 million is co-funded by the Government under its Shovel Ready Infrastructure Programme.

For more information on current projects, visit Council's ‘Omokoroa Peninsula Projects' webpage and story map at www.westernbay.govt.nz/omokoroaprojects.