Signage and redirection all that’s on offer for now
"You can't fix the road, or the situation, overnight." Kevin Ashwell, Woodville Mart owner
Businesses feeling the brunt of the closure of the Manawatu Gorge are unlikely to get the economic relief package they’re calling out for.
Woodville businesses have reported significant drops in revenue since State Highway 3 through the gorge was closed in April because of slips.
The NZ Transport Agency decided this month to close the road indefinitely after it was discovered a large section of hillside above the road was unstable.
The main alternative route between Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay, the Saddle Rd, takes vehicles around Woodville – a town that relies on the traffic to stimulate the local economy.
Transport and Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges floated the idea of an economic relief package for suffering businesses when the gorge’s indefinite closure was announced.
But he told the Manawatu Standard it was unlikely there would be one, given the other options.
‘‘The best solution for Woodville is that we get the traffic moving back through it so the economic activity that it did have is back,’’ he said.
‘‘The advice we have at the moment is that, with signage and redirections, we should be able to do that.’’
Other cases where a relief package had been given, such as the Kaikoura and Christchurch earthquakes and the flooding in Edgecumbe, involved a sudden loss of economic activity that could not be restored without one, he said.
New Central Motor Inn owner Teresa de Vries said the signage had put a little bit more traffic through the town, but had not helped her business.
The adjoining restaurant had closed and patronage was down.
‘‘We just have to look at what we can do to keep the business running, cut where we can, within reason, and hope for the best.’’
She had been told she could defer her tax payments for a time, but she would still need to pay them. ‘‘We do need a relief package.’’ Contractors working in the area could be put up in Woodville and surrounding areas to boost the local economy, she said.
That was done when Fonterra built its new milk powder plant in Pahiatua.
‘‘Our motel was booked out for six months with Fonterra workers. You couldn’t get a room anywhere,’’ de Vries said.
‘‘We could get that money coming in while the roads are fixed, and then we get the traffic again.’’
Woodville Mart owner Kevin Ashwell said he was usually busier through the school holidays, but the gorge closure had stopped that.
The signs were ‘‘help, but it’s not a hell of a lot’’.
Inland Revenue staff had been through to discuss options, but everyone still had obligations, he said.
‘‘They can’t say ‘don’t pay your tax’. You can put it off, but you still have to pay it back.’’
He was not holding out hope for a relief package.
‘‘No-one has a big chequebook they’re going to open up.
‘‘You can’t fix the road, or the situation, overnight.
‘‘Just keep your head up and get on with the job. That’s all you can do, really.’’
Bridges said he was open to listening to Woodville business owners when he returned to the area in a week.
‘‘We won’t be closed-minded about the solutions that might be out there.’’