Roads in Papamoa proposed to Chipseal Sovereign Drive, Santa Barbara Drive, Santa Monica Drive, The Gardens, Checkett Place, Montego Drive, Papamoa
Denny Hulme Drive Arataki
Chipseal over Hotmix Road Surface Survey 2025
10 December 2025 Letter to Mayor and Councillors and key Council staff
To: The Mayor & Councillors Tauranga City Council
Re: Policy Inviting Ratepayers to Fully Pre-Fund Hotmix Road Surfacing
We acknowledge and appreciate the Council’s decision to retain hotmix surfacing on the six identified streets in Papamoa, and we support in principle the idea of residents contributing to the ongoing maintenance of hotmix roads.
However, the method the Council is using is fundamentally flawed. The letter sent to residents on 6 December demands an upfront payment of $3,000–$7,000 per property, to be paid in full by 12 January 2026. This approach feels coercive and undermines any genuine intent behind offering a user-pays option. No one pays an unsubstantiated invoice of this amount.
The demand notice provides no supporting detail, including:
No breakdown of how the costs were calculated
No warranty or assurance around the quality of works
No timeframe for when the resurfacing would occur
No explanation of how future maintenance or repairs will be handled
A requirement that 100% of residents must agree and pay immediately
Requiring unanimous agreement is unrealistic and unachievable. Our resident survey confirms this. Even Council itself does not operate on 100% agreement for decisions.
Our counter-proposal is as follows:
Remove these six streets from the current chipseal programme, formally commit to retaining hotmix, and introduce a targeted rate of $100 per year or less for properties on these streets to fund hotmix-specific maintenance.
The Council meeting of 28 November, which resulted in several key decisions lacking adequate resident consultation, needs to be revisited with proper community input and up-to-date information.
We request a meeting with the Mayor, Councillors, and relevant Council staff before the Christmas break to discuss this matter. Residents feel ignored and sidelined, and this situation requires urgent resolution.
We look forward to your response.
Regards,
Philip Brown (on behalf of the residents)
6 December 2025
Many residents have received by email or snailmail a request to pay between $3500-$6000 to enable their road to be resurfaced in hotmix. This is a very underhand and devious attack by the council and pitches neighbour v neighbour. Our response is “do nothing” in the short term. The residents have no way of winning if we follow TCC’s guidelines.
Here is our reply
Good morning,
Residents on the Papamoa streets scheduled for chipsealing in January 2025 will have received an email from TCC yesterday. The email asks whether you want to participate in—and pay for—an alternative option. Unfortunately, the way this question has been framed risks pitting neighbour against neighbour.
This process is fundamentally flawed and appears designed to produce the outcome TCC prefers:
because 100% agreement is impossible, chipsealing will proceed by default.
Please do not feel pressured to respond immediately. There is no urgency, and taking time to consider the implications is the best approach. Ignoring the email for now is a perfectly valid choice.
Importantly, the email does not address what PRRA formally submitted to TCC:
a 12-month deferment, a full cost assessment, and the development of a targeted rate of approximately $100 per year for all residents living on hotmix streets. These reasonable proposals have not been responded to.
Below is a quote from a resident that reflects concerns we are hearing widely:
“This process feels designed to fail by overstating the cost and demanding it in one lump sum. I’m willing to pay—but only if the numbers are done properly. Where are the deductions for TCC avoiding chipseal reseals at 7, 14, and 21 years? Why won’t TCC show their workings instead of giving us a single figure? And why isn’t this presented as an annual charge, given future homeowners will also benefit?
Can we get TCC to pause this until they provide a transparent and credible assessment?”
PRRA will be writing to the Council this week to again request a deferment of the chipsealing programme. We continue to face strong resistance from certain Council staff who do not appear to be prioritising community outcomes. We will keep all residents updated and circulate relevant correspondence.
A reminder that PRRA is holding a community meeting next Monday evening, with Councillors Morris and Currach attending to speak about the chipseal process. All residents are welcome.
Details are available at: www.papamoaresidents.co.nz
Press Release by PRRA 6 December 2025 Click here to read
Letter/Email from Tauranga City Council 5 December 2025 to Residents
Kia ora & Others
Tauranga City Council will be resurfacing your road early next year as part of the city’s annual road maintenance programme. Santa Monica Drive has been identified as needing maintenance to prevent damage to the surface and underlying structure which will be resurfaced with chipseal.
Our policy is to use chipseal when resealing roads that carry low traffic volumes because it represents best value for money for all ratepayers. There are exceptions where asphalt may be used in areas that need it, such as some cul de sac turning areas.
We know the cost of living and rates increases are a concern, so taking a value for money approach is one of the ways to help ease that burden.
In response to concerns raised by residents about changes from asphalt to chipseal, the Mayor and Councillors recently agreed to give property owners the opportunity to pay the difference in cost if they would like their street to be resurfaced in asphalt instead of chipseal.
As your street is currently sealed with asphalt, this is something you might want to consider. We would like to give you the opportunity to ‘opt in’ with other property owners on your street and share the costs of resurfacing with asphalt. If everyone agrees, you can each contribute to a funding package that covers 100% of all costs above Council’s contribution to the standard chipseal surface.
Please let us know if you would like to opt in to this self-funding option, by using this link www.tauranga.govt.nz/asphalt15 and entering your unique property code which is 594SA221MC. Property owners on your street have until 19/12/2025 to let us know if you would like to go ahead.
Your individual contribution would be $3,755 (incl GST) and would need to be paid in full by 12/01/2026.
If all property owners agree to proceed, your contribution would need to be received prior to the scheduled start date of resurfacing work on your road which is 21/01/2026.
Unfortunately, deferring the resurfacing programme on these streets would incur costs and isn’t an option available to us.
In 2027, we’ll be consulting on a formal policy to allow residents to fund the cost difference between chipseal and asphalt. Consultation will occur as part of the 2027-2037 Long-term Plan process.
If you would like to know more about our annual resurfacing programme and information about the self-funding option, please visit www.tauranga.govt.nz/road-resurfacing.
Ngā mihi
Mike Seabourne
Acting General Manager: Operations & Infrastructure
Tauranga City Council (TCC) is planning to apply chipseal over a number of hotmix (asphalt) roads in Papamoa.
Update: This maintenance policy will eventually result in all suburban hotmix roads across Tauranga being chipsealed. This is no longer just a local issue — it’s a citywide concern. See PRRA submissions below for the latest correspondence.
Chipseal involves spraying a tar binder and spreading metal chips over the top of the existing surface. If a road surface actually requires renewal, the correct approach is to replace it like for like — hotmix with hotmix.
TCC is well aware that residents do not want chipseal on their hotmix streets, yet they are proceeding regardless and offering shifting and confusing explanations for the decision.
The reality is that most of these roads remain in very good condition for their age (30 years or more). They are not failing. The only reason TCC has provided for chipsealing is that they can claim an NZTA subsidy for this work . Our view is simple: do nothing and save the cost. Those funds could be redirected to genuine priorities, such as tsunami evacuation routes.
After three decades of collecting depreciation, there should be more than enough funding to replace these roads in hotmix. Where has that depreciation money gone?
Chipseal is a downgrade for any neighbourhood. Even TCC’s own staff member, Garry Oakes, has acknowledged this—yet the Council still intends to chipseal over perfectly good hotmix.
The impacts of chipseal on hotmix roads are well known:
Increased road noise
Tar bleed
A rougher, uneven surface
Loose metal chips
Shorter and inconsistent lifespan
More frequent renewals (every 5–7 years)
Poorer cycling conditions
The Papamoa Residents & Ratepayers Association (PRRA) requested the list of streets scheduled for chipsealing this summer some time ago. TCC only released the information after we advised them that Fulton Hogan, the contractor, was preparing to notify residents directly. A very resident-friendly approach indeed.
Update: The list has now been provided — at the last minute.
PRRA needs to understand how the community feels about this issue. This online survey will help capture your views. Please take part and encourage your neighbours and landlords to do the same.
If you want to see how poorly chipseal performs over hotmix, visit the newly chipsealed section of Gloucester Road. Stop, get out of your car, and listen to the increased noise. Is this what you want outside your home?
Update – November 2025:
PRRA has formally presented to Council requesting that this practice be stopped and that any resurfacing of hotmix streets be done in hotmix. TCC has suggested that residents in affected streets could pay a targeted rate to fund “like for like” replacement. Our response: if this is a citywide issue, then any targeted rate should apply citywide to all properties on hotmix roads — not just a select few.
TCC Contacts Garry Oakes Traffic Section
110 Nov 2025 click image to read
18 Nov 2025 RNZ Nz herald. click image to read
Newly chipsealed road
Chipseal over Hotmix Road Surface Survey 2025
Note all information collected will remain confidential. Only the aggregated results will become public. Results will be sent to all the participants. Multiple reponses from a household are acceptable. Your replies are important.
PRRA November 2025