Western Bay of Plenty District Council has decided the existing public toilet at Precious Family Reserve in Ōmokoroa will eventually be removed and relocated elsewhere in the district, despite more than 80 percent of people who responded to a council survey supporting its retention in the current location.
The toilet will not be removed immediately.
Council has agreed it will remain in place until a new public toilet is installed at Precious Family Reserve, with options for that replacement to be considered through the 2027-2037 Long Term Plan process.
The decision was made at Tuesday’s Projects and Monitoring Committee meeting following months of community feedback and earlier council consideration of the issue.
A four-week survey carried out in May and June attracted 387 responses.
Of those, 80.41 percent supported retaining the existing toilet in its current consented location.
A further 10.57 percent supported relocating it elsewhere within the reserve, while 8.76 percent supported removing it and moving the facility to another suitable location elsewhere in the district.
The result means the committee has chosen a longer-term option that differs from the preference expressed by a clear majority of survey respondents.
Community feedback considered alongside other information
Council said the survey was not the only material considered before the decision was made.
The committee also considered previous council and committee reports, public forums, meetings with staff and correspondence received over the issue.
Rather than immediately shifting the toilet, councillors opted for a staged approach.
The first step will be to include a future public toilet facility at Precious Family Reserve in consultation for the 2027-2037 Long Term Plan.
A further project proposal is then expected to return to the Projects and Monitoring Committee during the 2027/28 financial year.
That work will include assessment of alternative locations, statutory approvals, environmental effects and the cost of further community engagement.
Only after a replacement toilet has been installed at the reserve will the existing facility be moved elsewhere in the Western Bay district.
That means public toilet access at Precious Family Reserve is intended to continue while the longer-term solution is worked through.
How the public responded
| Survey option | Share of responses |
|---|---|
| Keep toilet in current consented location | 80.41% |
| Relocate toilet elsewhere within the reserve | 10.57% |
| Remove toilet and relocate elsewhere in district | 8.76% |
| Total submissions received | 387 |
The survey figures make the decision notable because the committee did not simply follow the most popular option.
Instead, elected members chose to revisit the location of the toilet through a future planning and consultation process.
That does not mean the 2026 community feedback has been discarded, but it does mean the final direction will depend on further assessment before any replacement facility is approved.
Six councillors supported the move
The resolution passed with six votes in favour.
Councillors Allan Sole, Margaret Murray-Benge, Tracey Coxhead, Graeme Elvin, Shane Beech and Laura Rae supported the proposal.
Mayor James Denyer and Councillor Grant Dally voted against it.
Councillor Rodney Joyce abstained, while Councillor Darlene Dinsdale was absent.
That voting record shows the decision was not unanimous.
The committee nevertheless had enough support to proceed with the longer-term replacement option.
Why the process matters
Public toilets can appear to be a relatively small council issue, but decisions about their location can become highly localised and contentious.
For residents, park users, families, older people and visitors, accessibility and convenience matter.
For councils, public facilities can also involve planning approvals, environmental effects, operating costs, location constraints and competing views from nearby residents.
That helps explain why council has chosen not to act immediately.
Instead, the current toilet will stay where it is while the next Long Term Plan process considers what should replace it and where.
The Long Term Plan is one of the council’s main mechanisms for setting spending priorities and planning major services and projects over a 10-year period.
By moving the issue into that process, council is effectively giving itself more time to assess the options before committing to a new facility.
Existing toilet to remain until replacement is ready
For people using Precious Family Reserve, the most immediate point is that nothing changes yet.
The existing public toilet will remain operational until a replacement has been installed.
Council will then relocate the current facility to another site elsewhere in the district rather than simply removing it from service altogether.
Further community engagement is also expected before the replacement project proceeds.
That means Ōmokoroa residents are likely to have another opportunity to comment when the future facility is considered through the Long Term Plan and subsequent project development.
The decision leaves the council with a careful balancing exercise.
Most survey respondents wanted the toilet to stay exactly where it is.
The majority of committee members, however, decided a replacement facility and alternative location should still be examined before a long-term decision is finalised.
For now, the existing toilet stays.
The bigger decision about where Precious Family Reserve’s future public toilet should sit has effectively been pushed into the next phase of council planning.
Source: Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Projects and Monitoring Committee decision, 25 August 2026.
