Rural roading expected to be big submission issue for Clutha District Council

Poorly graded or potholed rural roads have been a topic at Rural Water Scheme meetings. Photo / ODT File

The Clutha District Council is expecting rural roading to figure prominently in long-term plan submissions from ratepayers later this month.

A discussion on inadequate grading of rural roads throughout the district arose during the council's service delivery committee meeting yesterday, with most members contributing and relaying their own negative experiences.

Cr Stewart Cowie said Rural Water Scheme meetings he attended recently all turned to the subject of poorly graded or potholed rural roads.

Cr Rachel Jenkinson said issues were also raised at a recent Youth Council meeting.

Cr Geoff Blackmore said the council's present system of reacting to service requests alongside a six-monthly district-wide inspection schedule was "failing to get to the root of the problem".

"The key trouble spots are well known to local people, so let's focus on those."

Chief executive Steve Hill said the current system was "reactive" as there were insufficient resources to inspect the entire network on a rolling programme.

The service request system was the most affordable for the council, although it could also be "smarter" about the way it targeted inspections and repairs, Mr Hill added.

Mayor Bryan Cadogan said the message he had received from recent long-term plan "soapbox" sessions across the district had been: "Let's get the service request system working effectively."

Mr Hill said staff were already looking at the issue, which the council could expect to figure prominently among ratepayer submissions to its long-term plan, closing on May 11.