Te Puna Business Park FAQs

The land is zoned Industrial, within a specific Te Puna Business Park Structure Plan area which is subject to bespoke visual amenity, landscape and character, stormwater and traffic mitigation measures relative to the surrounding context. This is to achieve a lower level of impact and ensure adverse environmental effects are avoided, remedied or mitigated.

 

There are also two narrow parcels at the southern boundary of the site (1.06ha in total) zoned Rural.

 

The wider Te Puna Business Park industrial area comprises approximately 23ha of land on the southern side of Te Puna Station Road, and 7.2ha of land on the northern side. Surrounding land beyond the business park is zoned Rural.

 

All tenants will comply with the consent requirements including noise, visual and landscape mitigation, building heights, stormwater and other environmental requirements.

We believe this development will directly and indirectly support the region’s exporters.  The vision for a business park was mooted in the early 2000s and the former owners of the land successfully gained approval for it in 2005.

 

There has been significant growth in the region’s primary sector which has led to Port of Tauranga becoming New Zealand’s largest port.

 

Since 2005, there has been noticeable growth in commercial, industrial and residential development in the Te Puna area. There has also been investment in local infrastructure to better service the area including an upgrade of the Te Puna-State Highway 2 roundabout and works have begun on the stage 1 of the new 6.8km four-lane road connecting SH29 Takitimu Drive through to SH2 west of Te Puna.

The total site area 12.16ha with a total of 11.96ha of the site is proposed to be utilised for commercial purposes, with associated mitigation, across the three planned stages.

We will be taking a staged approach to develop the land. 

 

The first stage is intended to commence in 2023 comprising of extensive landscaping and environmental enhancement work such as bunds and setbacks from road frontage as well as ponds and other features that enhance both enhance environmental outcomes and visual appeal and cultural values. Internal road construction, and filling and contouring around the road to enable permitted industrial development to operate is also proposed.

 

The first stage is to enable the commencement of operations of a hire, sales and repair yard for containers. Later stages and complete development of the site would not occur until sometime in the future respecting traffic restrictions that apply until the operation of the Takitimu North Link. 

Consultation and engagement has been undertaken and is ongoing with hapū and iwi with a registered interest in the area recognising the interest of mana whenua and tangata whenua groups.

In addition to this consultation has also taken place with infrastructure providers, consenting authorities, and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga at pre-application stage.

It is envisaged that industries essential to primary produce exporters will be the eventual primary occupants. Permitted activities at the Te Puna Business Park include: 

  • Industrial (manufacturing, processing, packaging or dismantling activities, engineering workshops etc.)
  • Storage and warehousing
  • Building and construction wholesalers (including ancillary retail)
  • Depots
  • Commercial services
  • Medical and scientific facilities
  • Retail outlets for primary produce with a maximum floor area of 100m2
  • Garden centres and plant nurseries (including ancillary cafes not exceeding a maximum floor area of 100 m2)
  • Farm vehicle and machinery sales

Stage 1 seeks to accommodate predominantly yard-based tenants in accordance with the permitted uses above.

The Structure Plan divides development within the park into four stages. The structure plan requires development to progress in the nominated sequence of stages, with specific landscaping, stormwater and roading mitigation requirements in advance of any industrial development to be met, secured by corresponding rules of the District Plan.

The structure plan also requires the delivery of a prescribed landscaping and stormwater management strategy and integrated acoustic mitigation measures. This includes periphery and roadscape planting, and overland flow path protection within the business park.

The traffic impacts have been comprehensively considered.

 

We expect upon completion of the entire development, based on conservative estimates (i.e. the worst case scenario) to be a traffic generation of a maximum of 132 trucks and 642 light vehicles. A total of 2600 movements per day is provided for from the Business Park prior to the completion of Takitimu North Link. 

 

The entrance will be upgraded to an appropriate intersection, specifically designed to the road speed and geometry for safety and efficiency.

The site will enable ContainerCo to relocate non-intense operations, many of which do not need to be near a port such as a base for container repair works, and hire and sales teams.

 

ContainerCo will hold a small supply of containers (up to 300 containers) for kiwifruit growers and packers to cope with summer harvest demands, as well as provide a range of supply chain services including vanning and devanning. In addition a small stock of containers perhaps 50 will be upgraded and tested prior to delivery to primary produce exporters, a stock of containers of up to 30 will be held for hire and sales. The site will become a home to supporting office and technical staff and a base for our EV container shuttle fleet including fast charging points.

 

There are no plans for this site to be a large port depot or terminal but we envisage storing containers up to three-high, which is approximately 7.8m for standard height containers (2.6m height) and 8.7m for tall containers (2.9m each). This is generally consistent with the height of buildings anticipated in the Te Puna Business Park, which is 9m as a permitted activity. Screening and landscaping will mitigate visual impacts from stored containers.

 

The other component of use will be for container repair –  a workshop constructed from containers to the side and rear walls, with attached roof structure, would be erected to accommodate repair work activities. This area includes specific screening and drainage design measures to ensure the minimise visibility and noise from refurbishment activities, and to ensure water in the area is rigorously treated. 

 

We are also leading the way in introducing EV (electrical vehicles) to our truck fleet and we see the benefit of having onsite fast charge facilities at the site for future use. 

Hours of operation will be a maximum of 7am -6.30pm, Monday to Saturday.

Single and double truck-and-trailer vehicles will access the site in picking up and dropping off containers, in addition to light vehicles for technical and office staff.

 

No lighting structures are proposed. ContainerCo will comply with the noise limits applicable to the industrial land and the expected noise generated would not be unreasonable.

There are no known biosecurity risks. Containers arriving at ContainerCo Site at Te-Puna have been inspected at the port of entry, as required by the Ministry of Primary Industry regulations.

 

Much of the activity on site will be in respect of container services which do not involve containers leaving or entering the country. The site will be an approved transitional facility. Other containers will be processed in a separate area as they are made ready to support exporters close to the facility. This may involve washing activity with any water or detergent applied to this use contained and treated. 

The business park concept was initiated 18 years ago to meet growth in sectors such as Kiwifruit across Bay of Plenty and its now more important than ever as exports have increased and so has growth at the Port of Tauranga, which is now the largest in New Zealand.

It also enables ContainerCo to free up capacity at the core Mt Maunganui and Sulphur Point facilities and assist exporters to match pack timelines with shipping timelines.    

Noise levels will comply with District Plan requirements. It is not planned to work under lights.  Any lighting, say for security purposes, will be local to an occupied area and shielded to avoid light wash. 

No, proposed stormwater and waste-water networks will be self-sufficient. Water supply, electricity and communications infrastructure connections can be made and serviced by the adjacent/supplied networks in the area.
Shopping Cart