No easy solutions for coastal erosion

Last evening about 200 people crammed into the Haumona Hall to hear a presentation on the Coastal erosion issues that are affecting Haumoana and Te Awanga.

It was a combined meeting between the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Hastings District. The Regional Council is responsible for what happens in the sea and controls any type of consent within the coastal environment. The Hastings District Council controls land use and residential development on the land.

As I went to the meeting I was acutely aware that the options being presented were very difficult for the community and the councils. There are no easy solutions and all options cost at least 10 million dollars for a relatively small number of houses.

We went there to share information prepared by three separate experts on Coastal erosion. The consensus from these experts boil down to two solutions. One involves protecting the coast with engineering protection using groynes at a cost of 18.5 million dollars. The other, in stark contrast, involves a managed retreat over time. This involves letting the sea do its thing and shifting dwellings further back, as required. This has a community cost of nearly 10 million dollars.

Both are very unpalatable. Naturally we got into the issue of who should pay for this, what is causing the erosion. The current policies of both councils generally say that the beneficiaries of such work should pay for most of the cost. This is not set in stone, but even with some modification the residents out there will pay the majority of the costs.

The properties, especially those directly next to the sea, would see capital requirements of nearly 300k per property towards groynes. In the managed retreat option, they would simply loose the value in their property as it is eroded away. Again, this is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Coupled with this is significant uncertainty about the effectiveness of groynes, the uncertainty about actually getting a Resource Consent for them and the upstream erosion effects they may cause.

Fighting Mother Nature is difficult. The lack of gravels and the erosion beside these two coastal communities has most likely been caused by Mother Nature. The 1931 earthquake saw the area drop and the rivers no longer send out as much gravel as they used to.

I was heartened by how reasoned the audience was last evening. Sure I understand the realities are stark, the costs high and the option unpalatable. However, we are not about to walk away from these communities. With them we hope to find a consensus on the way forward. I also expect that when we finalise the options all residents in Haumoana and Te Awanga will be able to vote on their preference.

Those are my thoughts for the week.

I’m Lawrence Yule.

Sports Park On Track

During the past three weeks much of my time has been dominated by issues surrounding the Regional Sports Park. Today I want to give an absolute commitment that, despite obstacles and changes, the project is on track and very much alive.

I liken the recent hurdles to those faced when the Sydney Opera House was built. It was a large controversial project which faced many challenges. Nobody would today argue its merits, let alone remember the battles that were faced.

The Regional Sports Park is a visionary project for the people of Hawke's Bay. Its 56-million-dollar budget is daunting, but its potential is limitless.

Despite what you may have heard, the project is being put together in a very methodical, reasonable and structured way. The construction, funding and operation will all be put together by some very talented people working for the Trust.

There are two hurdles currently before the trustees. One relates to money and one relates to court action by a small group who are concerned about the quality of the land being used up by the Park.

On the funding issue, we acknowledge that the current economic conditions make this more challenging. Many of the funding sources, including trusts and corporates, have significant cash shortfalls at the moment. Despite this we have been heartened by the widespread support received for the project.

More significantly in the short-term are the two court processes in the way of the Park and, immediately, the grandstand. A small group of orchardists are challenging the Council planning decisions.

While I accept that such challenges can be part of any consenting process, I do not believe that a grandstand that was asked for by the people in a binding referendum should be held up by five people. It flies in the face of democracy and more importantly puts at risk potential funding, construction jobs and major events planned for 2010.

The Trust and the Council are currently looking at options for resolving these matters, but delays are likely.

All this being said, I am committed to this project and simply see this as another test along the way. The building of the Pettigrew.Green Arena took two attempts. Everybody today regards this as a runaway success. I am convinced the same will apply to the Regional Sports Park. Our children and future generations will thank us.