Two towns desperate to once again become part of Palmerston North

Two towns in the lower North Island are trying to defect to the Palmerston North council next door.

Opiki and Tokomaru were once part of Palmerston North's territory, but were shifted over to Horowhenua in the 1980s to balance the populations up a bit.

The two towns, collectively known as Tokopiki, are unhappy and want to be back with their Palmy cousins.

The issues are many - rates, libraries, schools, business, work - but the short of it is, Opiki and Tokomaru prefer the pleasantries of Palmy to the luxuries of Levin.

Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith appeared on TVNZ1's Seven Sharp to address the issue.

“We do seem to be attracting interest of people who want to join the city.”

He says they are going “through the process” of looking at bringing the two towns back under the Palmerston North umbrella.

“We want everybody, but we have to let the communities have their say,” he said of the pending decision.

He says Palmerston North is attractive as it has a “young population” and “plenty of jobs”.