This month nominations will open for those interested in becoming a Councillor or Community Board member in our district. Campaign rules dictate that columns such as this one, which is usually written by the Mayor, must stop, so it falls to me to pick up the baton and tell you a little of what has been going on in Council in the last month.
I wanted to focus on a small yet important community in this article – Hinekura Road. As most of you would know, a part of Hinekura Road slipped significantly, around 70-80 metres, after a major rain event in mid-June. It is an active slip as it has not stopped moving yet. This has left around 30 households in the Hinekura Valley without their usual access route to Martinborough, a journey that usually takes about 20 minutes. They have another access route but it adds an hour to their travel time.
This slip has, of course, created great disruption to people’s lives and we are very sympathetic to their situation. The geology of this portion of the road suggests this is not a new thing – there is evidence of previous land slips in and around the area. Council has repaired the road on several occasions following engineering advice that the works were sufficient in the meantime. The recent slip wiped out a six-month remediation project nearing completion. That work was almost finished, with some planting delayed to spring.
The existing route is unviable at this stage which means we have to explore alternative options. It allows us to make a case for funds from Waka Kotahi NZTA. But a new road will take time as well as money. So we are assessing what the options are in both the short and long term.
The very first thing Council’s roading team has done is take a good look at the alternate route, Admiral Road. We have carried out visibility earthworks to improve safety on some points, added surface metal on Ngakonui Road, cleaned up the roadsides and installed curve warning marker pegs. New layby areas have also been carved out to allow slower cars to pull over more regularly. Additional signage will be put up about being careful of wandering cattle, as they graze on the lower slopes along the roadside in some parts.
Hinekura residents are in for a number of months of disruption and, to that end, we have launched a $20,000 fund which the Rural Support Trust will administer to help people with immediate costs at this time. We are communicating with residents regularly and we continue to do everything we can for them at this difficult time. A residents’ meeting held on 29 June was well attended and well received. Feedback gained from that is being responded to. We are very grateful for the patience shown by residents and the support available from a number of community groups and government agencies.
Other work at Council in the last month almost pales in comparison but has been necessary. This includes the Annual Plan, our yearly set of priorities which sets our budget for 2022/23 and your rates. By the time you read this, Council should have adopted the Plan and it will be made available to read on our website, in our offices or in our three libraries. I encourage you to have a look. We also have a page on our website which answers many of the questions asked during the engagement process. Thank you to all those residents who took the time to visit us at our drop-in sessions and to write in with their feedback.
It has been a bit of a wet winter so far, so I trust wherever you are that you are rugging up and able to stretch those legs on the finer days. If you are interested in standing for Council, we encourage you to get your nomination in by August 12. The diversity of voices on Council is important to our democracy.
Until next month,
Nga mihi
