By Shane Groom, Barfoot & Thompson Tuakau
Tuakau is an awesome place to settle in. During the 24 years I have lived here, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to move, yet this town has a magic that compels me to stay.
What is that magic? Mostly it is the wonderful people who live here. They are proud of their town, passionate about their community, good spirited and generous with time when it comes to helping out.
When it comes to making a difference, it is the people who make or break it. Think about it. Who runs the sports clubs, coaches your children in sport, volunteers to run a youth group that provides after school activities and meals all for free?
And, who runs the non-profit charities, helps the elderly cross the street and collects your mail and mows your lawn when you’re away? That’s right, your friends in the community.
The Present:
I love this town for the people in it and what the township offers:
- Education: Two primary schools, a high school, a private school, playcentre, kindergarten, four daycare centres.
- Retail and amenities: Postshop, Kiwibank and ANZ, the award-winning Tuakau Hotel, cafes, a huge array of retail shops and professional services, a town hall, library, Waikato Council offices, public swimming pool, function centre (with a movie theatre) and more.
- Employment: Tuakau is home to various businesses with big companies seeing real value here. Although I could name drop that wouldn’t be fair to all the great businesses that make Tuakau a vibrant, bustling place of employment. A focal point is the Tuakau Sale Yards where local farmers buy and sell sheep and cattle.
- Sports & Leisure: Wow, there’s are so many clubs and codes on offer, with the mighty Waikato River offering more options. And, its just a short trip from town to glow worm caves.
- Housing: One word sums it up – affordability; that’s what the buyers are telling us. With Auckland real estate prices formidable, folks can come to Tuakau and get “more bang for their buck”. For example, a 703sqm section with three bedroom renovated home, sleep out, garaging and carport for $567,000, or for the first home buyer, two bedroom home single internal garage on freehold section for $377,000, that’s not a misprint $377,000. That’s amazing value.
The Future:
Tuakau has yet to hit its straps. Waikato District Council has ear marked the area as potentially the fastest growing region in Waikato. That’s why council is investing a great deal of money into infrastructure.
Added to that is the major push by politicians, councillors and locals to have Tuakau placed on the passenger train link to Auckland. It makes so much sense as by rail it is only five minutes to Pukekohe, which is where the current passenger train link stops. Just think about the housing boom that will occur once that is in place.
Yes but will that boom happen?
Developers have already pre-empted this growth by purchasing blocks of land for subdivision. Last year, Waikato Council put out a discussion document, (Plan Change 16), to rezone major parts of land in and around Tuakau from rural to full residential and allocating land for industrial and commercial purposes. A decision is expected by the end of the year.
Is the growth really going to happen? It has already begun. A new subdivision containing 93 sections was granted consent at the end of last year. Other blocks of land are currently with survey companies drawing up concept plans.
Tuakau – what’s in it for me? Well you might ask – country lifestyle, close to the motorway, minutes to Pukekohe and 45 minutes to Hamilton. Tuakau is awesome, a great place to call home.