Whakatāne Businesses 'Crippled' By Road Closure

Friday, 28 February 2025, 6:41 pm
Article: Diane McCarthy - Local Democracy Reporter

Business owners on Thornton Road in Whakatāne say poor communication over road closures this summer crippled their businesses for at least a month.

Thornton Bar and Eatery owner Brenda Collins said her revenue dropped by between 50 and 75 percent when Whakatāne District Council closed Thornton Road for renewals and she had asked for compensation for costs to her business.

"The impact the closure had on my business was immediate and in that moment, plans to hire a second chef and extend my business hours going into my busiest time of the year were quashed."

Collins said during the road closure, she often closed her restaurant halfway through the day as it was empty.

"Of course, I still had to pay staff a full day. Our business was crippled."

Blueberry Corner berry farm manager Verna Falwasser said farms such as Blueberry Corner and R&Bs, also on Thornton Road, which sell real fruit soft serve ice creams and other treats as well as berries, were open only six-to-seven months of the year.

"We opened this year on October 9. Five days later that road was closed. Straight away, no customers, no cars."

She said Blueberry Corner employed over 50 local people over summer. She had put 15 new shop staff through a three-hour induction and barista training the week before opening, then had to tell them they weren't needed.

She said although her employers were not seeking compensation from the council, she wanted the council to be more aware of the impact their actions had on businesses that were reliant on passing traffic.

Both women accept the road maintenance needs to be done but say that better communication with them beforehand could have minimised damage to their businesses.

In spite of both businesses having mailboxes, they say they did not receive the council notice that was delivered to residents affected by the works.

"I didn't get a flyer. I don't sit on Facebook and read the notifications from council. I don't read the Beacon. I don't have time," Falwasser said.

"We opened [for the summer] on a Wednesday. Thursday morning a customer told me, 'don't forget the road's closing on Monday'. From then on I went into a tailspin."

She said signs diverting all traffic between Whakatāne and Tauranga via Edgecumbe, placed at the State Highway 30 intersection of Thornton Road and north of the Matatā township, had not only affected Thornton Road businesses.

"I called into the shops at Matatā and they were affected, too," Falwasser said.

People coming from Tauranga were told the road through Matatā was closed except to residents.

Another detour for light traffic had been available via Griegs Road which would have taken traffic past their businesses.

"There was no planning, no thought, nobody cared."

Collins said she had met with council staff in December, who told her they were satisfied they had carried out a comprehensive publicity campaign prior to the works, including notices in residents' mailboxes, newspaper advertising and social media posts.

The business owner said on a previous occasion she had been paid $4500 compensation by the council for loss to her business because of poor communication but had been refused when she asked this time.

She said in that case council had accepted there had been inadequate notice of work that had a direct impact on her business.

Both women addressed the council's infrastructure and planning committee recently about the impact of the lack of communication on their businesses and Ms Collins again informed them she wished to be compensated.

Council chief executive Steven Perdia said councils did not pay compensation when works occur around households and businesses.

"The cost would be enormous to ratepayers. [Works] occur every day of every year with every council and they are always affecting people.

"There is an assumption that over time, everyone is affected by some work, but at the end of the day the outcome of that work is that we maintain a fit-for-purpose district."

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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