Equally as hard as choosing what to prioritise is choosing what isn’t a priority right now. We have prioritised the projects that we think the community needs (e.g. catering for growth) and those that we think will have the biggest benefits, to make Matamata-Piako the place of choice.

The following projects are some high profile projects we have chosen not to include in the next ten years:

• Matamata Bypass – our research indicates that once the Waikato Expressway is complete, truck use through the Matamata town centre will drop by 20-30%. Council does not believe there will be enough traffic through Matamata in future to warrant a $40-$50 million bypass, and the land that was designated for the bypass is also not fit for purpose. Based on this information Council has opted to let the designation lapse and dispose of the industrial zoned land that was purchased for the bypass. While this means there will not be a bypass in Matamata in the next ten years, it doesn’t mean a bypass can’t happen in the future. We would need to reassess the demand and choose a new route that is more suitable.
• Morrinsville Events Centre – upgrading the Morrinsville Events Centre will be addressed in the Morrinsville Recreation master plan, however, actual work/progress on this project is not budgeted to proceed within the next ten years.
• Morrinsville Civic Facilities – the Morrinsville Library and Council office need some work. Looking ahead, we know we will need to plan for improvements to these facilities, but think we should focus on the recreation facilities for Morrinsville first.

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• The underlying information