Work ongoing to confirm Westport properties eligible for Adaptation Relief

Work in refining the criteria for the Adaptation Relief Fund is ongoing, as the final parameters of the Westport flood mitigation scheme are worked out.

As part of the Resilient Westport funding package from Government, an Adaptation Relief Fund of up to $2m was granted to assist home owners that were affected by the 2021 and 2022 events and are still exposed to risk after the implementation of flood mitigation measures.

Buller District Council (BDC) and West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) are working with Government on the criteria and implementation of the Fund. BDC is overseeing the process.

Buller District Council Chief Executive Simon Pickford says he recognises some people would like more certainty about the Fund and when and how it might be applied.

“We know there are residents in and around Westport who feel they may be eligible for the support from the Adaptation Relief Fund and therefore may be feeling frustrated over the lack of news and/or visible progress.

“We ask for patience from the community. We have put a lot of work into this to-date and need final information on who may or may not be protected by the flood mitigation measures before we can move forward.

“In other words, final design of the floodwalls could alter the exact number of affected properties. This is important and detailed work that the flood mitigation project team are working extremely hard to finalise.

“A workshop was held in August last year to look at the overall picture and the Resilient Westport Steering Group was given some good advice from Martin Jenkins about how funds like this are generally applied.

“The report found it would be preferable to have more clarity about the structural flood protection design before making Adaptation Fund decisions. Further discussion will take place after West Coast Regional Council has completed its work on potential flood mitigation solutions for the Snodgrass Road area, Carters Beach and the wider programme, where tweaks might be required.

“We have only one chance to do this right. Once the money has been allocated to specific properties and the fund is extinguished, we can’t go back if we find additional properties are affected. Government stipulated that the fund is not for managed retreat and therefore not available for cash buy-outs or partial payments. The aim of the fund is to directly mitigate flood related risks for properties that were damaged during the severe weather events in 2021 and 2022, reducing risk to life and potential future damage to property and infrastructure.

“We want to reassure the community that once the fund criteria is established, we will be updating them and getting in touch with those directly affected,” says Mr Pickford.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Resilient Westport Communications team
media@resilientwestport.co.nz