A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
Long-Term Plan submissions close tomorrow and if you are a city resident, you should be submitting to protest against the rural-biased roading policy that could well become permanently locked in for the next 10 years.
John Kape’s column yesterday explained how city residents and the Poverty Bay Flats productive sector
are being ripped off in favour of rural residents in the council’s one road network concept.
Despite the council applying a roading differential to varying land usage, this targeted rate only provides $1.5 million of the required forestry road maintenance of $2.7m. As well as this ongoing maintenance, new roads and strengthening or replacement of 11 bridges, foresters expect access to go in for new harvesting areas.
Why should city ratepayers fund their needs through this compulsory “shush fund” roading policy? Our city roads are being destroyed by thunderous logging trucks and need attention too.
Pastoral farm foresters also need to stop being subsidised in the dubious council policy of “Highest and best use”. Why should land owners of forests, which are part of larger pastoral farms, not pay the forestry-aligned roading differential in their rates for that part of their land?
