Council to focus on Tenby St

AS Haven St continues to slump into the sea, the Waitaki District Council has decided to focus on another Moeraki street.

In a report to the council’s assets committee yesterday, roading manager Michael Voss wrote the ‘‘frequency and scale of slippages at Haven St are increasing despite the expenditure and stabilising methods, by both community and council’’.

Tenby St, used as a detour when a section of Haven St collapsed following heavy rain in 2013, suffered from several ‘‘pinch points’’ on the road and the council had received criticism from locals about the road’s ‘‘narrowness’’ as its use increased, he said.

Tourist traffic at Moeraki, especially to the lighthouse, and yelloweyed penguin colony, had made Tenby St ‘‘quite an important route’’ and the council expected ‘‘another rampup of tourists heading through that area’’, he said.

The report to council was ‘‘a headsup . . . that we’re going to start to need to invest more money into Tenby St, because that’s the main route the tourists are using’’.

Cr Hugh Perkins said he did not want the report to be seen by the community as: ‘‘Here we go, they are going to abandon Haven St again.’’

In 2009, following a petition, the council committed $630,000 to stabilise Haven St.

However, just two years later Waihemo Community Board member Jack Lyford described the road as ‘‘an absolutely shocking mess’’.

In 2013, the road was closed after a slip and in 2015 a partnership was formed between community members and the community rebuilt the road.

The road reopened last year, but Haven St was ‘‘back to its 2013 condition with severe slips’’, Waihemo ward Cr Jan Wheeler said yesterday.

‘‘The report is not saying we are abandoning Haven St,’’ Cr Jim Hopkins said. ‘‘The report is saying Haven St is abandoning us.’’

Haven St was reduced to one lane, and the council had spent $20,000 on Haven St this year — more than the original budget for the road of $8000, Mr Voss said.

Council assets manager Neil Jorgensen said yesterday the council would try to keep the road ‘‘trafficable’’.

‘‘Our current philosophy is we’re trying to keep Haven St open,’’ Mr Jorgensen said.

PHOTO: BILL CAMPBELL Qlipsliding . . . Haven Qt in Moeraki is once again in poor shape after recent slumping on the sea side of the street asove Miller Bay. The Waitaki District Council wants to keep the road open.