Today is crunch time for the Resilience and Infrastructure Committee at Auckland Council to fix storm ravaged road reserve land by upholding its duty of care so Stickered Titirangi Area Residents (STAR) group can get on with their lives.

Councillors will vote on recommendations on how to fix storm-damaged Council-owned road reserve land that has been affecting and threatening 40 to 50 private properties.

The publicly released agenda lists the proposal up for consideration at item number 10 and outlines “definitive advice on solutions to issues raised by the Stickered Titirangi Area Residents group”.

They seek funding support and stream-lined consenting / licensing processes. The advice notes an “underspend of the local portion of the 2023 North Island Weather Events Crown-council funding for transport network repairs”.

This $5M surplus governed by Auckland Transport could contribute for repairs in an initial first tranche of funding. STAR group hope this amount is further matched by a Crown contribution in a second tranche of support.

“We appreciate all the work that has gone into this proposal to identify options – it needs a flexible approach and a deadline,” said Tony Proffit, a STAR group member.

Option B where Auckland Transport “undertakes repairs directly” is favoured by the community group.

“We hope the Council back this underspend of budget being directed to this issue and all the other support mechanisms in the paper”.

Last month Deputy Mayor, Desley Simpson requested officials to prepare a proposal after the STAR Group made an impassioned plea for funding support and streamlined consenting / licensing processes.

"These people have waited for 20 months. They have fallen through the gap of existing policies, and are unique, in a set of circumstances, that need an answer," Ms Simpson said.

At the last meeting Councillor Ken Turner proposed a six-point Notice of Motion that was supported by Committee members for Auckland Transport and Auckland Council Chief Executives to report back today.

“The extraordinary impact of the January 2023 Anniversary Weekend flash floods was immense demanding equally extraordinary solutions in response,” said another STAR ‘Stickered Area Residents’ Group member Thibault Beaujot.

The residents have been working diligently with Council officers, Auckland Transport and the Recovery Office aiming for a fair and reasonable outcome together. They will present again at the Committee meeting.

The group first brought their plight to the Council’s attention before Mayor Brown and the full Governing Body on 24 August 2023.

Residents have been in limbo waiting for Auckland Council and its agencies to act urgently to provide those affected with a clear solution and detailed plan of action.

Due to not being the land-owner, members of the community group are ineligible for private insurance, EQC, or financing to pay for the cost of remediation – placing them in ‘no man’s land’ currently.

STAR group have also corresponded with the Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery the Hon. Mark Mitchell, and Minister of Transport and Local Government Hon. Simeon Brown on the unresolved issue.

The official advice also notes the “unprecedented scale and unprecedented response by Auckland Council to date” to the severe weather events of 2023.

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