Mayor Campbell Barry has confirmed today that Council has directed officers to investigate how we can make our communities more resilient in the face of extreme weather, by using Lower Hutt’s allocation of the Government’s Better Off Funding.

Hutt City Council has a total of $33.4 million in allocated funding, with $8.4 million being available from next year, and the remaining $25 million in 2024.

Campbell says that the extreme weather and resulting disruptions we’ve experienced over the last six weeks has demonstrated the need to put a climate resilience lens across our city.

"The recent slips, and frequent storm events over the past 12 months, are a direct result of our changing climate. We need to do more now to build resilience within our communities that are more at risk in severe weather events.

"We expect options to include improvements to current resilience measures, and an analysis of what new infrastructure projects are needed to improve resilience," says Campbell Barry

While options need to be explored, it’s expected the lion’s share of the total $33.4 million will go towards lifting resilience across Lower Hutt.

"We cannot have major disruptions like we’ve seen in Eastern Hutt Road, every time there’s a severe downpour. We are a growing city, and it’s time to seriously invest in our future.

"While this funding will go some way to increasing resilience, addressing these challenges would require investment from the Government," says Campbell Barry.

Officers will report back later in the year to the new Council on options to increase resilience of our communities, including looking at access to our largest suburbs.

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