Temporary change by Government to speed up flood resilience work in Hawke’s Bay
The Government is proposing an Order in Council which will make it easier for councils to perform flood resilience work at specific sites in Hawke’s Bay, hastening the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell say.
An Order in Council under the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act 2023 would make changes to the Resource Management Act to streamline the resource consenting process for flood resilience work at specific sites in Hawke’s Bay.
The proposed Order in Council would only apply to consent applications lodged by councils in Hawke’s Bay, and only at eight specific sites. These sites are in Wairoa, Whirinaki, Waiohiki, Ohiti Road/Omāhu, Pākōwhai, Havelock North, Porangahau and Awatoto.
Simmonds says the temporary change has been developed in response to a request from the Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency.
On the back of Cyclone Gabrielle, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has earmarked seven areas where new flood infrastructure would see category 2A and 2C properties reclassified to Category 1 and one
area where new flood infrastructure would protect an industrial area as well as Napier’s wastewater treatment plant.
These areas are Wairoa, Whirinaki, Waiohiki, Ohiti Road/Omāhu, Pākōwhai, Havelock North, Pōrangahau and Awatoto.
“Once councils have undertaken these works, approximately 975 properties which are currently categorised as Category 2A or 2C could be recategorised as Category 1 under the Land Classification System, indicating the land is at low risk from future flooding events. The works would also protect the industrial area and Napier’s wastewater treatment plant in Awatoto,” Mitchell says.
“These changes would let councils get on with the job sooner, allowing affected landowners and occupiers to get on with their lives with more certainty about the future of their homes and businesses.”
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Chair, Hinewai Ormsby welcomed the decision by cabinet, saying the order would provide a streamlined process for the multiple resource consent applications that would
inevitably be required before construction of any planned flood infrastructure could begin.
“This will play an important role in enabling work to start sooner and progress to be kept on track, whilst ensuring the usual protective measures of cultural and environmental impact assessments will not be compromised.
“Ultimately we want to be able to provide certainty for our Category 2 property owners that they have a pathway to Category 1 and this is reliant on consent for new flood infrastructure works in these areas.”
She said whilst Council acknowledges each Category 2 community is at a different stage in the process, the reality is that regardless of the preferred solution there will be resource consents required to undertake the work.
“In Wairoa and Pōrangahau, we are still working through options with those communities at this point, but it is reassuring to know when we get to the consent stage we will be able to move through this process efficiently.”
The Ministry for the Environment, on behalf of central Government, is running a public engagement on the proposal which finishes on 18 March. Details of this engagement are available on the Ministry for the Environment website.
