The Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Tauranga City Council are joining forces with other councils in the upper North Island to work on inter-regional issues.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman John Cronin and Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby.

The alliance is designed to help councils work together on such issues as economic development linkages, transport including rail, roads and freights, ports, waste, water, population and liveability, commercial and industrial land development, international connectivity and climate change.

Regional Council Chairman John Cronin says the councils have agreed there are benefits for all of them co-operating on a range of issues, even if their respective aspirations are not always compatible.

'An interregional agreement to promote collaborative thinking and initiatives is seen as a useful tool for assisting with the challenges and opportunities that will arise as Auckland and the three regions pursue growth, development and economic agendas.”

TCC and BOPRC will sign the Upper North Island Strategic Alliance agreement this weekend along with Northland and Waikato Regional Councils, the Auckland super city Council, Hamilton City and Whangarei District Councils at a ceremony in Auckland.

John says the newly formed group will also work on integrated management of the Hauraki Gulf, Firth of Thames and Kaipara Harbour, and look at aquaculture management, navigational safety bylaw alignment, geospatial data management and improving liveability factors in the four regions.

This includes access to aggregate resources, collaboration on biodiversity and biosecurity issues including marine biosecurity, cross-boundary resource management issues, cross-boundary servicing opportunities and efficiencies and any other strategic issues.

'The alliance has been prompted by the creation of the Auckland Council and reflects the growing dominance of the ‘golden quadrangle' of the Auckland, Northland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

'The agreement has the potential for our regions to align themselves so we can promote our individual strengths and identities without competing amongst ourselves.

'There is much to be gained for each region individually, and for New Zealand as a whole, if we work collaboratively to maximise the collective economic power of the Upper North Island.”

He says the move to sign the alliance was driven by the country's increasing reliance on economic activity in the upper North Island, cities and businesses being more globally competitive.

'The purpose of the agreement is to maximise sustainable development opportunities for all of the upper North Island. The councils intend to identify strategic opportunities and collaborate on joint initiatives which will support social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing across the four regions.”

John says they also intend to work together to avoid cross-boundary effects of each area's activities, share information, expertise, databases and research and keep each other informed of matters of mutual interest.