Regional recovery plan near completion

BILL MOORE

With about half the flood-hit residents of Nelson and Tasman back in their homes and a recovery plan drafted, the joint recovery group will shortly disband, manager Mike Schruer said yesterday.

The team of about 15 staff from the two local authorities would begin returning to their respective council jobs once the plan had been discussed and refined next week, he said.

It was to be given in draft form to the two council chief executives at the end of yesterday, and he was hopeful that by Thursday next week a preliminary cost estimate would be reached. The councils would then decide how to fit the flood recovery work into their medium and long-term plans.

"The focus of this plan is getting the work programme going forward, the dollars and the staff resources involved," Mr Schruer said.

"It goes to the chief executives as a management tool. It's up to them to decide how that gets implemented in the two councils."

He could not go into specifics ahead of the councils receiving the recovery plan, but said a lot of progress had been made in the six weeks since the flooding, and he was extremely happy with how the councils' staff, police, emergency services and help agencies had worked together to deal with the crisis.

Getting people back into their houses remained the first priority, Mr Schruer said.

By last night, about 50 Section 124 notices had been lifted in Nelson city and seven in Tasman district, with another 52 in Nelson and 24 in Tasman still in force. These were mainly dependent on EQC assessments and the councils would concentrate on clearing the notices as soon as possible.

Next came work to restore infrastructure and prevent further damage to property, concentrating on getting services running, even at a reduced level while further planning was done.

For example, Cable Bay Rd, now open with restrictions, would be the subject of a full options report that would require NZ Transport Agency input into possible emergency funding.

Some slips have been from city council land on to private properties, prompting questions about where responsibility lies and delays in processing claims.

Mr Schruer said this had been referred to the council's insurance brokers and might require further legal advice before there were clear answers.

He also confirmed that the idea of rates relief for people prevented from living in their homes by Section 124 notices had been raised, and the Nelson council would be looking at that next week. The Tasman council is likely to follow suit.

There was "a long way forward" with flood recovery work, he said, but he felt the team had done well to produce a recovery plan in a short time.

"At least we've got some firm direction next week on what needs to be done."

Recovery public information manager Chris Choat said some frustration from affected homeowners was understandable, especially with the more straightforward Section 124 notices now lifted.

The recovery team would wind down soon, but "we are still extremely aware that there are still more than half the number of houses that we're dealing with that people can't get into".

"We are working at that, and even if we go back to the host councils, each host council will have an avenue through which we will be dealing with those people individually."

The number of EQC claims resulting from the flooding and slips has reached 850, and it could be months before all the necessary geotechnical inspections are done and the last Section 124 notices are lifted.

It is certain that some homes will be demolished, but by yesterday afternoon neither council had received a demolition consent application.

Late yesterday, the recovery group issued a notice saying that ponds on Rabbit Island would continue to be fenced off while the water failed to meet recreational bathing standards, and that a shellfish gathering ban covering the area from Separation Point to Rangihaeata Head in Golden Bay would be lifted on Tuesday.

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