South Wairarapa’s 3200 ratepayers cannot fund a road serving the nation.
By Emily Ireland for Local Democracy Reporting
That’s the message the council has sent the New Zealand Transport Agency in its proposal to safeguard the future of South Wairarapa’s fragile but significant Cape Palliser Rd.
NZTA currently funded 100% of the maintenance and repairs of the coastal road because it was classified as a Special Purpose Road (SPR) due to its cultural and tourism value and high on-going maintenance costs.
However, this special status would be removed nationwide in June 2027, leaving a funding hole of up to $35 million over 10 years.
With the SPR status revoked, the road would revert back to the standard NZTA Financial Assistance Rate (FAR) of 51%, consistent with other local roads across the district.
In the council’s business case summary, it said the nationally significant road was “at a funding cliff just as its physical resilience challenges are becoming most urgent”.
It proposed a bespoke model where NZTA would fund 100% of capital resilience projects such as landslip works, emergency works, and the continued rollout of EcoReef, and 51% towards maintenance projects, such as pavement renewals and reseals.
It meant South Wairarapa ratepayers would pay about $700,000 a year on the road, instead of $22m-$35m over 10 years.
South Wairarapa Mayor Fran Wilde said Cape Palliser Rd was a nationally significant corridor.
“The road supports tourism and access to nationally important cultural sites, as well as economic activities such as fishing and farming.
“It services a small local community and is one of New Zealand’s iconic roads. The benefits extend well beyond South Wairarapa but, when the current SPR status expires, the cost burden will fall squarely on our ratepayers.”
To proactively defend the road, the council installed EcoReef technology in 2022 which proved to be an effective approach to erosion, reducing damage and repairs to the road following severe swells and weather events.
A recent resource consent allowed for the expansion of this protection to additional high-risk sites.
Wilde said local residents and iwi, together with recreational and commercial road users, had been active in gathering information for the business case and she thanked all those involved.
The business case covered the core problems of resilience and prolonged closures, the road’s cultural and economic significance, and the mismatch between national benefits and limited local rates to cover costs.
Cape Palliser is a massive regional driver, pulling in more than 150,000 visitor vehicle journeys each year and generating between $85m-$95m in regional tourism spend per year.
The road also serves as a lifeline to heritage sites for local iwi and hapū.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
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