Council proposing to use part of Stanley Park for much needed housing
Released: Friday 24 November 2023
More housing and a new inclusive playground are on the cards for Tokoroa.
South Waikato District Council has resolved to proceed with an application to change the use of part of Stanley Park in Tokoroa and sell it for social and affordable housing to help meet the significant need for housing in the town. This requires Council to complete a partial revocation, where part of the Park would no longer be a park.
The proposal would see some of the current Park retained and improved with an inclusive playground that welcomes children and families of all abilities and disabilities to learn, play and grow together. Accessible toilets and a small car park would also be part of the Park redevelopment.
The provision of housing, and in particular, social and affordable housing is an issue across the South Waikato district and in Tokoroa specifically. In 2021, Council reviewed its reserve land portfolio to identify if there were any opportunities to better utilise land for housing.
Head of Economic and Community Development Paul Bowden says Stanley Park is considered an ideal location for much-needed housing.
“It’s a large park but it is currently not well used and doesn’t have any additional facilities. In the north Tokoroa area there are five other nearby parks, that support our level of service of 9ha of open space per 1,000 residents, and we have identified the need to invest in new open spaces in the south of Tokoroa to meet our overall level of service, which we will do this as new subdivisions are developed.
“Freeing up some of the park for housing and adding an inclusive playground along with accessible toilets would provide for two needs – more housing in our town and improved recreation spaces for people of all ages and abilities.”
He said there was potential for 19 housing units, but it was too early to say exactly what they would look like other than the focus would be on two and three-bedroom homes, which is where the most need is, identified through the Tokoroa Transitional Housing Report. As of September 2023 there are 132 households on the Ministry of Social Development’s Housing Register for the South Waikato.
As part of our early engagement, we’ve met with partners and key stakeholders including Raukawa, Tokoroa Council of Social Services (TCOSS), South Waikato Pacific Islands Community Services Trust (SWPICS), Tokoroa Kāhui Ako, local Police, Kāinga Ora and other community housing providers to better understand their needs and their initial thoughts on developing more houses in the district.
Mayor Gary Petley said that early feedback from our partners and stakeholders has been positive of Council’s initiative to enable much needed housing.
“Further engagement is necessary around the reserve revocation process that Council must now follow,” said Mayor Petley. “We look forward to speaking more with our partners and community.”
Earlier this week, our staff sent correspondence to the immediate neighbours around Stanley Park to share what we’re proposing and respond to any questions they may have, so that where possible we can mitigate any concerns they may have.
Council will be going through a revocation process for a portion of the reserve, under the Reserves Act 1977. This is the first step in the process and people can make submissions on the revocation. Everyone in the community, including organisations, will have an opportunity to make a submission on the proposal early next year. Any affected party will have the opportunity to object to the change and for those objections to be considered in the decision-making process of revocation.
“We’re also keen to involve the community, whānau and importantly, local children in the design of the playground to make sure it meets their needs and provides a fun, accessible space to play,” said Council’s Parks and Reserves Manager, Phil Parker.
An inclusive playground is already included in the Long Term Plan 2021-31 for Stanley Park to replace the Kauri Street playground that became unavailable for public use with the sale of Scouts NZ land. Council has subsequently gained Government Better Off Funding to support the development of housing and provide a much higher quality inclusive playground with additional amenities, including accessible toilets.