Te Awamutu is getting its first traffic lights in more than 30 years — thanks to a new Mitre 10 development recently green-lit for the town.
Waipā District Council's private plan change will rezone land at 638 Cambridge Rd, next to the local Pak'nSave, from residential to commercial, clearing the way for a new 13,000-square-metre Mitre 10 and cafe.
Plan Change 35 was lodged by 638 Ltd, which already owned and operated Te Awamutu's existing Mitre 10.
In exchange for the rezoning, the developer will fund a package of upgrades to Cambridge Road — chief among them, new traffic lights.
The town hasn't had a working set of traffic lights since one at the intersection of Alexandra, Sloane and Arawata Streets was pulled out in the 1990s.
The upgrade also included a shared walking and cycling path, pedestrian facilities, a pedestrian crossing, and a new wetland.
The plan change would become operative once formally notified by the Waipā District Council, provided no appeals were lodged with the Environment Court.
Te Awamutu, population just shy of 14,000, is the Waikato's fifth-largest urban centre and the birthplace of Crowded House's Neil and Tim Finn, who name-checked the town in their 1986 song Mean to Me.
Its population has grown more slowly than the national average in recent years — up 0.6% annually over the five years to 2025, against 1% nationally.
SHARE ME