Minister of Emergency Management Hon Kiri Allan was in Marlborough yesterday to see some of the recovery work underway along Queen Charlotte Drive and on the Wairau Plain.

At Fareham Lane near the Waihopai River confluence she heard from the Council’s Rivers Engineer Geoff Dick, who explained how well the Wairau Plain stopbank network had held up during the July storm, thanks to decades of continued investment by the Council and work by the Rivers team.

Geoff noted that last year’s Resilient River Communities funding from the Government had made an important difference, allowing the construction of three major strong head groynes along three kilometres of nearby Wairau River bank, which had helped strengthen the flood defences during the storm.

On Queen Charlotte Drive, the Minister heard from Deputy Mayor Nadine Taylor and Building Control Manager Brendon Robertson at the site of the huge Moenui slip where a number of properties were affected. While the overslip had caused extensive damage to the land and properties, fortunately the road underneath escaped relatively unscathed and, once the spoil was cleared, it was reopened.

The latest Marlborough Roads Recovery Update is also now available containing up to date information on the district’s Recovery Zones including Kenepuru Road and associated side roads, the Awatere Valley Road, Queen Charlotte Drive, Northbank and Kaiuma/Pelorus.

This update from the Marlborough Roads Recovery Team (MRRT) notes that the last week has seen progress made across the recovery area although wet weather did mean work had to stop briefly on a couple of sites but there were no longer-term impacts. Please note the new link for the weekly Marlborough Roads Recovery Update here: https://bit.ly/MRRUpdates

The next update from the Marlborough Roads Recovery Team is planned for Wednesday 13 October.

Communities in the Marlborough Sounds continue to cope with disruptions as a result of the July storm.

As part of a visit to acknowledge these ongoing difficulties, coffee came to the Marlborough Sounds via barge earlier this week. The caffeine boost was delivered by representatives of the Ministry for Primary Industries, members of the Rural Support Trust and key Council recovery staff.

The visit was designed to show support for members of the Sounds rural community who have been affected by road closures as a result of the July storm, said Marlborough Recovery Manager Dean Heiford who joined the trip.

“It was great to get on the ground at last and gain a further understanding of the challenges that our Sounds’ rural community has as a result of the storm and the loss of road access,” he said. “We are planning on holding more community get-togethers like this.”

The Council is continuing to work with the Marlborough Road Recovery Team to build a plan for a number of permanent residents located along the stretch of Kenepuru Road between ‘the rock’ site and Portage Bay who do not have access to a jetty to be able to come and go by water if needed.

If you are one of these residents and have not yet been in contact with the Council Recovery Team directly, please email recovery@marlborough.govt.nz

The details of a Council subsidised water taxi service for those affected by the Kenepuru Road closure will also be announced early next week. This is separate to the current subsidised barge service on offer through Johnsons Barge Service in Havelock.

Mr Heiford said the Council had been asked whether people renting holiday homes were eligible for the subsidised barge service.

“The subsidised barge service is only for residents, owners of a commercial interest and supporting services. Holiday makers will need to pay full price for the barge but they will be able to utilise the subsidised water taxi service we will announce soon, subject to the road being open to the public where they are barging to,” he said.

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