A Merivale community leader is standing up for the area and wants to change people’s perception of the suburb.

Graham Cameron wants to change people’s perception of the area after 69 per cent of voters on a multiple choice answer SunLive poll said Merivale was Tauranga’s most dangerous suburb.



Graham Cameron says Merivale is a good place to live with many positive activities held there.

The poll showed Welcome Bay was considered the second most dangerous suburb with 14 per cent of the vote.

Gate Pa and Papamoa East each received nine and five per cent respectively.

Merivale Community Centre service manager Graham Cameron says there are a lot of positive things happening in his community which people should be focusing on.

“We have an annual community festival and it’s coming up on March 31.

“That’s music, stalls and food, giving people the chance to hang out together at Yatton Park.”

This is the seventh year the festival has been running.

“It started at Merivale School. It was Vale Idol then because it was when New Zealand Idol was all the rage.

“It changed a little in format over the years, really it’s been around for our people and celebrating our community.”

Graham says they normally have around 1500-2000 people showing up through the course of the day.

The Merivale community is working to build a positive reputation and has even taken charge of a property which was the site of a house fire earlier this year.

Graham says housing removed the home which burnt down on the corner of Alverstoke and Fraser Street and gave the community an opportunity to start a garden.

“It’s been a nice, relatively informal, chugging along little project.

“At the moment it’s at the stage where the lawn has been mowed and rotary hoed over and we are looking at planting seedlings. It’s been a nice, wee project.”

Amongst the community work happening in the area, Graham is pleased at the completion of roundabouts to slow traffic on Fraser Street.

“We’re very excited about and it’s slowed the traffic down, which was the aim.

“So it’s been a few years in the making with the council and it required budgets and priorities to collide.”

Graham says it’s now up to them to show the children how to use the roads safely.

“So the next step in that for us is a crossing the road safely campaign, involving our kids and our adults.

“The council has done their bit and now we have to do ours.”