about 1 hour ago

Gravel road debate: Council to further delay decision

about 1 hour ago
Wilanda Downs Rd near Ohai, Southland, is one of three roads in the district with its seal in disrepair.

Wilanda Downs Rd near Ohai, Southland, is one of three roads in the district with its seal in disrepair. Photo: Supplied

Southland's mayor says the district council will delay a decision to turn three sealed roads back into gravel roads as long as it can while it hopes for more funding from the central government.

Residents of Crooked, Waterloo and Wilanda Downs roads were awaiting the decision by the council, which had already been delayed.

Mayor Rob Scott said the roads were important but the council was short on funds for its roading programme, and had been lobbying central government.

Southland Mayor Rob Scott backed Smith, saying he always had the community at heart.

Southland Mayor Rob Scott. Photo: Matthew Rosenberg/LDR

"I've been talking until government right up to the Prime Minister late last year and I'm hoping they're starting to listen, because the government has been talking about need to haves and this is a need to have for the whole country. If we don't invest in our roads properly here it is going to have a detrimental impact," he said.

He said Waterloo Road in particular was well used in the community.

"That road has a few farms on it, it's got a lot of logging activity currently happening which is actually the cause of the degradation of the road that's got it into this state. It's got school buses on it," Scott said.

"It's not about us asking for New Zealand to subsidise us, it's actually asking for us to get the money that we generate on our roads, the income for the government that we generate on the fuel excise taxes to come back to Southland, it's currently not."

Community members met with Southland District Councillors on Monday night to discuss their concerns with the re-gravelling of the roads.

Resident Pete Turner, who used Waterloo Road daily, said the community felt they had not been engaged with properly.

"The report the council did for their analysis of it it's very one-sided it's basically just on what the council issue is, there's no effect that it has on ratepayers regarding dust for stock and the safety concerns on the road if it's to be put back into gravel, that's why Waterloo Road was put from gravel to seal," he said.

"We've left it with council and hopefully they'll continue to engage with us... there's a lot of ratepayers up [Waterloo Road], a lot of farming up that road and it's deteriorated rapidly over one of the wettest Springs we've ever had. It's caught the council on the hop a little bit, but we've got to find a solution to this."

The New Zealand Transport Agency's acting director of regional relationships, Ian Duncan, said councils were responsible for determining funding for local road maintenance and improvements were prioritised and allocated to specific projects.

"All councils have received their funding from NZTA for the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) and are deciding how it will be prioritised on their networks.

"This is the same process followed every three years through the NLTPs."

He said Southland got a 38 percent increase in local road funding for 2024-27 from NZTA compared to the 2021-24 period.

They asked for a 56 percent increase, Duncan said.

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