13 June 2018

Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: Flood response

Enquiry

The reporter sought the following information in relation to the floods on April 29 and requested comment from Stavros in relation to the infrastructure damage.

• What has the cost to the council been for damage to roads, reserves and other infrastructure?
• How much of that was specific to roading?
• Where were the main areas of damage?
• What has the cost been to the council for other flood response? eg. supporting the Ngongotaha community
• Has the council applied to the NZTA to recuperate some of the roading costs?
• How much of that money has the council asked for?
• With the increasing number of significant weather events will the council be looking to add more money into the budget for such events?
• How far has the council gone over its operating budget already?
• What preventative measures are the council taking to ensure future storms don't create so much damage?

Response

RLC provided comment and information which you can find HERE on Council's website

BOP Regional Council provided the following response:

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Rivers and Drainage Operations Manager Bruce Crabbe said the bank did not burst during the larger weather event, it overtopped at a point where there was no stop bank.

Since then Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff have surveyed the stream by foot, drones and our engineering team has undertaken GPS surveys of the flood levels, which will improve modelling accuracy when predicting the impacts of heavy rainfall events in future.

Following the April 29 weather event fallen vegetation was found at 64 different locations along the Ngongotahā Stream between SH 5 and Lake Rotorua. Council's first priority for clean-up has been the larger trees (some were as big as a metre in diameter) or where the debris was causing stream bank erosion.

$90,000 had been spent on erosion repair works and vegetation clearing so far. We have also included extra funding in the next two financial years of our Long Term Plan, to carry out repairs and clearing works in Rotorua streams within the Scheme area.

Since the main weather event Council has reinforced the stream bank near Parawai Marae with rock armouring, being one of the most critical site.

Council is also stock-piling 5000 tonnes of rock, which will be used to repair other areas along the stream when boggy ground conditions dry out enough to permit heavy machinery access. The rocks will be used to repair eroding stream banks.

Following the April 29 weather event Council is working to remove trees and repair erosion at 160 sites.

Regional Council is also working with the Paradise Valley Catchment Group to assist in the implementation of a Catchment Plan which has been developed by the group to address issues in Paradise Valley. We have started work to remove large trees in Paradise Valley that are in danger of falling into streams and have identified a suitable site to install a rain gauge in Paradise Valley.

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Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: Building consents

Enquiry

The reporter used the data for the three months from March to May 2017 and compared it to the same period of 2018 to find ...

3 months - Mar 2017 - May 2017

61 x commercial consents; value $12.4m

289 x residential consents; value $9.9m

350 x total consents; total value $22.3m

**15 x new dwelling consents; total value $4.4m

3 months - Mar 2018 - May 2018

53 x commercial consents ; value $12.5m

294 x residential consents; value $15.8m

347 x total consents, total value $28.3m

**37 x new dwelling consents; total value $12.3m

So it seems to me the trend is, commercial consents are consistent (in value) with little variation between the actual number of consents granted.

But new dwelling consents have increased 146% from 15 to 37.

I've identified that trend, so can council please provide comment on:

• Trends it has seen in consents. In Nov 2017, the council said it was issuing more consents for lots due to an uptake in the market. What's happening now?
• Is there a trend in what type of consents are most popular? eg small projects like replacing a fireplace, or larger projects like add ons to homes.
• Can some one speak to that consistency in consents?

Response

From Rotorua Lakes Council Operations Group Manager Henry Weston:

Perceptions of Rotorua have changed at same time as the upturn in the housing market and we deal with a lot of inquiries from developers from outside Rotorua - from places like Auckland and Tauranga - who tell us they see Rotorua as a vibrant, progressive district.

Land owners and developers in general are more confident and the value of land now means there will be a return for them. Meanwhile, our current District Plan has freed up more land for development through zoning so that is also having an impact in terms of prompting landowners and developers to consider moving ahead with development aspirations.

In the past consents tended to be for infill lots but that has now shifted to include lifestyle and multi-lot subdivisions.

At the moment there are a handful of large residential developments either consented or in pre-application discussions so it's looking positive in terms of upcoming developments.

Figures for current financial year, as at 31 May 2018:

• Total value of building consents issued $118m, up from $99.5m at the same time last year.
• 146 building consents for new dwellings, up on the same time last year when there were 90 (and including 31 new dwellings consented during the months of April and May).
• 83 subdivision consents issued with 152 potential additional lots (92 residential and 59 lifestyle).
• Council is currently processing subdivision consents for a further combined total of 78 lots (40 lifestyle, 26 green field residential and 12 infill lots).