“It’s about a year too late,” said Saving Face owner Mellanie Smith.
“We just feel really broken that we haven’t been given enough notice to either look at moving or putting money aside to try and soundproof our rooms.”
Smith said she had been told by a regional council spokesperson they couldn’t go public with the plans until they had come to an agreement with all the parties involved.
“All they had to do was come to us and say, ‘we don’t know the details but in one year you are going to have some impact of some sort on your business’ so we could start planning.”
It comes as they look forward to the busiest part of the year.
“We’ve all done the hard yards through winter and the economic downturn and were looking forward to a busy period.”
Smith said she understood flood prevention was needed for the town.
“However, the way it has just been pushed upon us without any consideration or collaboration just feels very hurtful.”
Even if the businesses survived next year’s works, the river views they enjoy will be gone, she said.
“Standing, we might just be able to see the tip of White Island,” Smith said.
“I feel like they don’t give a toss about our businesses. They’re destroying my livelihood.”
Smith said relocating would come at a cost of around $200,000.
Roquette part-owner and head chef Romel Saavedra said it would be closer to $400,000 for the restaurant. The owners had also just invested in new furnishings, which they might not have done if they knew about the works.
The owner of Kathryn’s Pilates Studio was overseas but a friend, Marianne Wilson, said customers came expecting a relaxed atmosphere.
“All of our three businesses need a quiet environment. We need zen. It’s quite sad because these are all beautiful spaces that really enhance Whakatāne.”
Residents of the two Quay St apartment blocks, Quayside and White Isle apartments, would also be affected by the noise.
“We’re not going to have a nice summer up there,” said one Quayside apartment resident who moved into the building three weeks ago.
“If I had known that was happening I would have rethought where I was going to go.”
The council’s Project Future Proof is a flood protection programme to raise the height of the stopbanks and floodwall by about 800mm along 1.8km of the Whakatāne town centre.
The plans were made public around three years ago.
Regional council engineering manager Mark Townsend said stage two, which covered the Quay St area, would happen in two parts.
The first covers the iSite to Wairere Stream, with the second covering the Wairere Stream bridge to the end of Quay St in front of the regional council building.
The works also included a new footbridge across Wairere Stream, while further work would take place on the Wairere Stream, between Quay St and the waterfall, in 2026-27.
“A key part of the stage two work is working with Ngāti Awa and Whakatāne District Council to ensure that the area remains attractive for residents and visitors to Whakatāne.”
Flood protection would be incorporated into the look and feel of the surrounding area, Townsend said.
“To achieve this, the team will retain as much of the existing vegetation as possible and ensure access to the river.
“Flood protection is the first line of defence when it comes to minimising and managing the risk of significant flood events to people, property and livelihoods.”
The current CBD flood defences were being upgraded to handle current weather events and the ongoing impacts of climate change, Townsend said.
Asked whether the regional council would provide compensation for loss of business due to the work, he said only one business had approached the council at present.
“Further discussions with all affected businesses needs to occur before any decision on compensation is made,” he said.
He said there had been widespread communication about Project Future Proof over the past year including drop-in sessions at the council’s Quay St offices late last year and early this year.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
