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Share Waihī Beach to Athenree (Waiau Estuary) Crossing on FacebookShare Waihī Beach to Athenree (Waiau Estuary) Crossing on TwitterShare Waihī Beach to Athenree (Waiau Estuary) Crossing on LinkedinEmail Waihī Beach to Athenree (Waiau Estuary) Crossing link
Kia ora, welcome to the Waihī Beach to Athenree (Waiau Estuary) Crossing project page. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about the project, including frequently asked questions. Check out the information on the right-hand side of this page for all this and more.
About the project
Desire to connect Waihi Beach to Athenree with a shared pathway has been a topic for several years within the Waihi Beach, Bowentown and Athenree communities and it is identified as one of the top objectives of the Waihi Beach Community Plan. It is also a priority in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Land Transport Plan and the local community Civil Defence group has identified the connection as providing an alternative emergency evacuation route.
The proposed path includes a 3m-wide, 355m-long boardwalk across the Waiau Estuary from Island View to Athenree. Further path and boardwalk sections along esplanade reserves will complete the connection into Dr North Reserve and Pohutukawa Drive.
A shared path across the estuary would add a special experience to the existing trails around Athenree and Waihī Beach. Visitors and residents would be able to enjoy the estuary from a new angle, and could walk between communities within an hour, adding to the liveliness of the area without creating congestion from cars and parking. The new path is also a section of the Walking & Cycling Action Plan long term Tauranga Moana Coastal cycleway project.
An initial round of community consultation for a shared use path across the northern end of the Waiau Estuary was undertaken in late 2021 and the feedback was overwhelmingly supportive.
What’s next?
We have been working on a draft concept design and will share it with the community to get feedback in April 2025.
After the feedback has been analysed, and any changes to the design made, the draft design will be submitted as part of a resource consent application to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC).
The application will be widely advertised by BOPRC and feedback sought, to determine whether a public hearing is needed before a decision is made. This part of the process could take several months to conclude.
If the application is successful, then the project can proceed if there is funding to build it.
Kia ora, welcome to the Waihī Beach to Athenree (Waiau Estuary) Crossing project page. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about the project, including frequently asked questions. Check out the information on the right-hand side of this page for all this and more.
About the project
Desire to connect Waihi Beach to Athenree with a shared pathway has been a topic for several years within the Waihi Beach, Bowentown and Athenree communities and it is identified as one of the top objectives of the Waihi Beach Community Plan. It is also a priority in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Land Transport Plan and the local community Civil Defence group has identified the connection as providing an alternative emergency evacuation route.
The proposed path includes a 3m-wide, 355m-long boardwalk across the Waiau Estuary from Island View to Athenree. Further path and boardwalk sections along esplanade reserves will complete the connection into Dr North Reserve and Pohutukawa Drive.
A shared path across the estuary would add a special experience to the existing trails around Athenree and Waihī Beach. Visitors and residents would be able to enjoy the estuary from a new angle, and could walk between communities within an hour, adding to the liveliness of the area without creating congestion from cars and parking. The new path is also a section of the Walking & Cycling Action Plan long term Tauranga Moana Coastal cycleway project.
An initial round of community consultation for a shared use path across the northern end of the Waiau Estuary was undertaken in late 2021 and the feedback was overwhelmingly supportive.
What’s next?
We have been working on a draft concept design and will share it with the community to get feedback in April 2025.
After the feedback has been analysed, and any changes to the design made, the draft design will be submitted as part of a resource consent application to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC).
The application will be widely advertised by BOPRC and feedback sought, to determine whether a public hearing is needed before a decision is made. This part of the process could take several months to conclude.
If the application is successful, then the project can proceed if there is funding to build it.
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