A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
As much as it would be nice for the council to have consent for a cycleway to be built alongside the Waipaoa River in its back pocket, as it starts into a planned 13-year construction period to raise and widen the river’s stopbanks, it is hard to argue with thehearings commissioner’s decision to decline the application as it was “more akin to a general concept — with most of the detail to be developed and resolved post-consent”.
“In summary, the concerns are that without . . . certainty as to what is proposed, its operation and how effects will be mitigated, it is not possible to determine the actual or potential effects that may arise from the cycleway/walkway operation, and what mitigations may be acceptable and/or appropriate,” said Greg Hill in his decision.
The council had only wanted the ability to include a cycleway, which it has not budgeted any money for. Understandably it has been focused on the essential work of securing the Waipaoa Flood Control Scheme for anticipated higher-intensity storms throughout this century.
That has been challenging enough, with this hearing held in September originally scheduled for December 2017, then adjourned after it was realised further river modelling and peer review was needed. Thankfully there was that pause in this urgent process, as it was found that the stopbanks needed to be raised up to twice as much as was originally planned.
The cost implications are large, lifting the estimates for the project from $23.4m to $30m-$35m.
Residents who accuse the council of neglecting essential work in favour of nice-to-have projects will be happy with the commissioner’s direction that it would be more appropriate to apply for a cycleway consent much later in the project.
If the council does appeal this decision, it is likely it would narrow the focus to an application for a cycleway between the Waipaoa rivermouth and Matawhero Bridge, as it has recently applied for $6m from the Provincial Growth Fund for stopbank and cycle trail improvements in this area.
While the PGF granted a similar amount for what could only be described as a general concept plan for Titirangi summit, the council will need firm plans if it does appeal.
