Have your say on the future of Turangi’s reserves

Have your say on the future of Turangi's reserves

Community feedback is being sought to help shape the development of a plan for the future management of Turangi reserves.

Taupō District Council is currently working with Turangi hapu Ngāti Tūrangitukua to develop the plan that will set out how the town's reserves, parks and sports fields will be used in years to come. The partnership comes after ancestral land taken by the crown in the 1960s for the construction of the Turangi township was returned as part of the Ngāti Tūrangitukua Claims Settlement Act in 1999.

A committee of council and Ngāti Tūrangitukua representatives was formed in early 2016 to oversee the creation of a new reserves management plan. The committee will ensure the plan reflects both the recreational and cultural values of the reserves and recognises the relationship the hapu has with the land.

While the majority of Turangi's reserves are owned by Ngāti Tūrangitukua, council maintains the reserves so they can be used by sporting groups and the wider community.

Taupō District Council policy manager Nick Carroll said over the next month it was important the community gave feedback about how they would like the reserves used in years to come.

"No one knows these reserves better than the people who use them, so we want to hear ideas from the community on how we can look after them now and in the future.

"From this feedback, the Turangi Reserves Management Plan Committee will create a draft management plan for people to consider and provide more feedback on."

Turangi Reserves Management Committee chair Ngaiterangi Smallman said it was important the plan included feedback from the people who had a special relationship with the reserves.

"Ngāti Tūrangitukua's connection to this land is reflected through hapu mana whenua, our roles as kaitiaki and as the legal owner of the whenua. Some of these reserves are waahi tapu - sacred areas - and it is important that the values of Tūrangitukua are reflected in creating the most suitable reserves management plan for the people that use Turangi's reserves."

Those who wish to have their say can email their ideas to turangireserves@taupo.govt.nz or phone council on 07 376 0899 by November 22. A drop in session will also be held from 5.30pm to 7.30pm on Tuesday, November 1 at the Turangi Senior Citizens Hall for people to ask questions and share their views with council officers.

To find out more about the Turangi Reserves Management Plan or to have your say, click here.