Plugging hole in flood plan raises eyebrows

A law created to help the economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic is set to be used to speed up flood protection work in Foxton after residents said they would block the work using any means possible.

Horizons Regional Council officers say the law will ensure $4.5 million of government money is not pulled from the project, but a councillor says that is not the purpose of the law.

The council voted yesterday to apply to have flood protection work at Foxton considered under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act.

The law was created by the Government last year as a way to speed up projects that would stimulate the economy as the coronavirus pandemic threatened to plunge the country into recession.

Environment Minister David Parker decides what projects get fast-tracked after getting advice from officials.

Foxton’s flooding problems are no secret, with parts of the Horowhenua town going underwater multiple times between 2004 and 2017 during heavy rain.

A proposal to build better flood protection was consulted on in 2018, but the plan had changed by the time the Government announced in August it would fund the Foxton work to the tune of $4.5m.

The price tag then was $6m, but had moved to $9.2m by yesterday’smeeting.

Horizons river management group manager Ramon Strong said the project had to be completed by March 2024 to get the money, but landowners in Foxton had protested against the work.

There was talk of appealing any consent decision to the Environment Court, which would put the funding at risk and make things much more expensive, he said.

The work needed to be done to improve Foxton’s ‘‘third-world quality infrastructure’’.

Foxton resident David Roache said he gave Horizons a letter from multiple farmers in the region who did not agree with the plan.

There was a much cheaper option – building better stopbanks and maintaining drains properly – which would work, he said.

Debate between councillors went on for the best part of two hours, much of it about if the flood project was sound or if there had been enough consultation with residents.

Chairwoman Rachel Keedwell became obviously frustrated as things went on as she tried to keep councillors focused on the recommendations, explaining the issue had to be decided that day.

Declining the fast-tracking meant the project would go through a traditional consent process, but would not be sent back to the drawing board.

Councillor Samferguson was the only elected official to vote against using the fast-tracking process.

He said there was no doubt the project was the best option for Foxton, but the law was designed for pandemic-related economic stimulus.

‘‘I can’t put my hand on heart and say we need this project for economic stimulus.’’