The Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Joint Committee has presented and recommended a full strategy that will enable the Regional Council to consult with the community.

Joint Committee Chair and Regional Councillor Jerf van Beek says the Strategy is the culmination of nearly a decade of work to put in place an adaptable plan to respond to the challenges of coastal hazards over the next 100 years.

“The Joint Committee’s recommendation to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to take the strategy forward to public consultation is a key step towards making this plan a reality,” says Chair van Beek.

“We’ve worked closely over many years with the community and technical experts to develop this plan, and as a Joint Committee we are proud to present this Strategy to the Regional Council for it to be taken forward. The Regional Council now needs to follow consultation and decision-making processes in the Local Government Act to consider including the expenditure and rating revenue in its forecast budgets so it can be implemented.”

Deputy Co-Chair and Hastings District Councillor Alwyn Corban says the Strategy is a reflection of the community’s hard work and a guide for future work to manage coastal hazards.

“The Strategy will support Hawke’s Bay’s coastal communities, businesses and key infrastructure to be resilient to hazards and adapt to the changing climate, in a way that is well thought out and recognises what the community values,” says Councillor Corban.

“The Strategy development process has leaned heavily on community engagement, with countless hours invested by community members, and for that we as a Joint Committee are grateful. Being one of the earlier regions to develop a long term plan to respond to coastal hazards has meant this has taken longer than we had originally thought, as we have encountered many challenges that have little to no other examples to learn from, and we acknowledge this has been hard on the community.”

The Strategy document includes funding principles to guide the Regional Council’s development of the funding model for Strategy implementation for consultation. For most areas it proposes a rating distribution with 70 per cent of the cost paid by the properties in the affected areas, 25per cent to come from the district (Hastings and Napier), and 5 per cent from all Hawke’s Bay ratepayers.

It also includes artists impressions of the proposed pathway actions along the coast at Te Awanga, Haumoana, Westshore and Bay View. These are based on concept designs developed following the Community Panel’s recommendations report. The Regional Council will be talking to the community ahead of consultation about the proposed pathway actions in more detail and answer any questions the community may have.

Deputy co-Chair and Napier City Councillor Hayley Browne says this work has been ground-breaking in Aotearoa New Zealand and an example of how collaboration can work for the community.

“Years of mahi, collaboration, and research has gone into developing this plan, which can offer a guide for other regions needing to plan to respond to coastal hazards. With support from the community, and with any changes made in response to your feedback, the plan can be turned into action with designs, consents, and new rates collected to help pay for solutions,” says Councillor Browne.

Joint Committee member and Maungaharuru-Tangitū Trust Chair Tania Hopmans says working with the community is the key next step to a collaborative approach to managing coastal hazards between Clifton and Tangoio.

“Ultimately this Strategy will only be successful if it is supported by our communities. As we, as a Joint Committee, hand this work over to the Regional Council, we’re recommending working closely with tangata whenua and communities to understand and genuinely respond to their feedback,” says Ms Hopmans.

The Cliftonto Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy 2120 is a collaboration between Maungaharuru-TangitūTrust, Mana Ahuriri Trust and Tamatea Pōkai Whenua, and Hasting District,Napier City, and Hawke’s Bay Regional councils.

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