Whakatāne District Council will not meet its long-term plan goal to have its spatial plan and future development strategy completed by the end of this financial year.

However, chief executive Steph O'Sullivan said it was more important that the spatial plan was done well rather than done fast.

'The project is one that is now starting to be talked about as one that is leading the way across New Zealand because of the way in which we are approaching it,” she said. 'We're not driving hard just for housing infrastructure outcomes, but we are talking about community wellbeing outcomes, and we are taking a collaborative approach.”

In a quarterly report presented to council last week on how it was performing against targets set in the Long-Term Plan for 2021-31, elected members heard that the target of completing the Eastern Bay Spatial Plan and Future Development Strategy was not on track to be achieved this financial year.

The plan is being worked on together with Ōpōtiki and Kawerau district councils, and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to look at how they would like the Eastern Bay to develop over the next three decades.

Due to a variety of factors, the new timeline for completing this is June 2024.

Deputy Mayor Lesley Immink expressed her frustration that this timeline had to be extended, particularly after having put $200,000 of central government's three waters better off funding toward the project.

'I thought that was the purpose of the better-off funding, to accelerate this.”

Ms O'Sullivan said the extra resources meant the council could get the expertise it needed, be able to do really good community consultation and, critically, make sure its Treaty partners were at the table.

'Because all of those decisions that they are making - Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Kāinga Ora, Ministry of Education, the health sector - all need to be taken into account so that we're all aligned.

'While it might feel that 18 months takes a long time, if you think about the complexity of that, across the three districts with a regional council overlay to get that spatial plan which will have a 30-year lifespan, it's better that we take the time and do it well.”

-Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.