Tokoroa’s Stanley Park Reserve might be used for housing soon

Stanley Park Reserve in Tokoroa might be used for housing soon, with South Waikato District Council applying for a partial revocation of the reserve.

The council decided to proceed with a formal application to the Department of Conservation (DoC) last month.

If the application is successful, it would allow the council to subdivide the land into residential sections and then sell them to a developer to build 19 homes. These would be a mix of community and affordable housing.

According to the Ministry of Social Development Housing Register (December 2023), social housing is in high demand in the district, with 147 applicants requiring a total of 261 bedrooms in South Waikato.

The council said it would also develop a new inclusive playground and toilets on the remainder of Stanley Park.

For the design of the playground, the council said it would involve the community, whānau and local children.

A new road and footpath would be formed using the current council-owned 20 Manaia St site to increase the reserve’s street visibility and safety of users and provide improved access to the playground and the new homes.

The council has considered submitters’ views raised during formal consultation and at the hearings and deliberations meeting and has determined that partial revocation of Stanley Park for community and affordable housing offers greater benefits to the community than retaining it all as a reserve.

According to the council, Stanley Park was under-used, being a large park with no additional facilities. Tokoroa has five other parks near Stanley Park that support the council’s required level of service of 9 hectares of open space per 1000 residents.

The council received 45 submissions on the proposal during the formal consultation period.

It expects the decision from DoC to take several months.