Our spatial plan helps us to plan how the city and district will grow, develop and change over a time horizon of 30+ years to deliver on Rotorua’s 2030 vision and goals.

Focusing on our vision for the future and recognising what is important to us as a community will help us shape a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable community and economy.

The aim of the spatial plan is to:

1. Provide one picture of where the district is heading and highlight significant and key areas for growth and change.
2. Provide a guide for investment decisions at a local, regional and central government level.
3. Identify the key issues facing the district and the priorities that need to be advanced to address these.

As a community we need to talk about how we want to respond to population changes and the global and national trends that will influence the future growth and development of our district.

The Rotorua Spatial Plan is a bold plan that will show how Rotorua will grow and change out to 2050. Driving this was the Rotorua Vision 2030. This was the galvanising force behind the Spatial Plan, that ensures all activity and all council is oriented towards one goal. The spatial plan expresses this Vision spatially.

Our first spatial plan

This is not the first such plan - Rotorua started out with a bold vision emerging from the Fenton agreement for a town to capitalise on the area’s geothermal wonders.

More than a hundred years ago, on 25 November 1880 the Fenton Agreement was signed between the Crown and Ngati Whakaue, gifting the lands on which Rotorua city was built.

Streets, parks and sites for hospitals and schools were laid out and key streets were named after the important chiefs and leaders of Te Arawa.

In essence, this was the first spatial plan for the city.

This spatial plan

This spatial plan continues that tradition by building on what we have to propel us forward to the next exciting stage of our district’s evolution.

The Rotorua Spatial Plan describes a future where the population is significantly larger.

This recognises people will continue to be attracted here by the lifestyle and economic growth, and growth overspill from surrounding areas.