Flood-ravaged homes in Edgecumbe's College Rd to be demolished

Work on the demolition of 12 houses on College Rd in Edgecumbe is set to begin before Christmas. Photo / File

For eight months, 12 flood-ravaged homes have been the face of Edgecumbe's April flood.

The College Rd homes sit directly opposite where the breach of the Rangitaiki River caused major flooding on April 6 and have been what the world has seen in photos of the event.

But work is about to start on demolishing the red-zone homes.Shane Moore Services (SMS) has been appointed by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to complete the demolition and people can expect to see movement on the site in the days before Christmas.

Rebuild works are expected to start early next year.

The regional council's project manager, Peter Hay, said the first contractors and staff would be visiting the site shortly, but any large-scale works were likely to start on the other side of Christmas.

"The properties were all purchased and signed over to council in October and we acknowledged that event with a small blessing on the site. But it isn't a simple sale and purchase for many former-landowners so we are working with them to allow for final visits or small blessings on individual houses.

"I also appreciate that the pieces of wall that breached have a weight of emotion attached for many in the wider community and we have made sure that we store those pieces off-site until those most impacted by the floods have had the opportunity to consider what they'd like to do with them," Hay said.

"I know some of the options that are being considered are things like creating a memorial site or making them part of a sculpture or community garden space."

Hay said the engineering design for the new stopbank was in the process of being finalised and there had been a slight delay to accommodate the recommendations made in the Rangitaiki River Scheme Review (the Cullen Report).

"We are working closely with the community on that rebuild and a couple of community representatives sit with us on the team to work on initial designs. They have provided thoughtful input and [we] have appreciated their involvement. We hope to be in a position to share those designs with the wider community shortly."

Hay also reminded locals and those who used College Rd as a through-route that there would be machinery and trucks on site for the removal works and they should keep clear of the fenced-off areas.

"It is going to get quite busy in that space and we know the contractor has processes in place to ensure people stay safe. But people need to stay out of the cordoned-off areas and move more slowly down College Rd. Please take extra care in the coming months as these works get under way."