‘East end’ changing landscape?

Residential developments, shopping complex could change face of Cambridge Road

By Grant Johnston

Te Awamutu’s eastern entrance could be a rapidly changing landscape over the next few years.

A comprehensive residential development in the area has been approved by Waipa District Council, a proposal for a shopping complex is being processed by the applicant and large tracts of farmland are proposed for rezoning.

The comprehensive residential development will see 50 units created in an area of land between Cambridge Road and Gleneagles Drive (off Picquet Hill Road) for people aged 50 years and over.

The application by Tristar Group Ltd (Tom Andrews and Adrian Hamlyn) was approved by Council’s regulatory committee last month. It will be built in four stages with a community hall and bowling green for residents use as part of stage two.

The regulatory committee found that although there were issues of non-compliance in the residential zone, that (with some modifications) the proposal was not inconsistent with the objectives and policies of the Waipa District Plan. It granted consent to Tristar Group to build the 50 units for seniors, bowling green and community hall, as well as to erect two signs at the Gleneagles Road entrance.

And large areas of farmland adjacent to Cambridge Road on the fringes of the township are the subject of a proposed rezoning to residential being processed by Waipa District Council. This would potentially create hundreds of new sections in a desirable semi-rural landscape.

The original Bilimag proposal (for a shopping complex on the former Taylor and Jourdain timber yard) was withdrawn and superseded by a revised proposal (Plan Change 53). Many of the original submissions to the first application raised issues with traffic and the effects of the retail development on the town centre and existing businesses.

The revised proposal provides for large format retailing, however the nature and size or the retail units has been amended by the applicants to avoid potential impacts of the development on the town centre and potential traffic issues.

The new proposal provides for 14 retail units with a total floor area of over 12,000 square metres. The largest unit of 6000 square metres would be available for a supermarket.