Whakatāne District Council has made a request to central Government to reallocate funding for its town centre riverfront development to the boat harbour.

Both are joint projects being done in conjunction with Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa and partially funded by the government.

The council had $9.6 million funding approved in 2020 from the Provincial Growth Fund for its Te Ara Hou project to revitalise the Whakatāne riverfront and town centre.

The first part of this project, the remediation of the 100-year-old Whakatāne town wharf, was completed and officially opened by then Minister of Business, Innovation and Employment Stuart Nash last year. Further stages were to include the development of a riverfront promenade and a plan for the central business district that would draw people into the heart of the town.

Consultation on this plan took place in 2020.

Mayor Victor Luca told Local Democracy Reporting the reason no further progress had been made on the Te Ara Hou project was due to uncertainty around Bay of Plenty Regional Council plans to raise the stopbanks along the Whakatāne town riverfront by around 80 millimetres, called Project Future Proof.

“We’re not really sure what shape it’s going to take yet so we’re not really in a position to advance with the Te Ara Hou project,” he said.

“We’re waiting for definitive descriptions of what form that future proofing will take because without that we won’t really be able to design exactly what that waterfront looks like."

He said the regional council had “quite complicated science and modelling” that needed to be done around predicting sea levels and storm surges.

“Also, in terms of modelling what impact the fuse in the sand spit would be. We have not had the definitive on that either. They’re the ones holding all the cards at the moment,” Dr Luca said.

He said that over the past year, costs had gone up on everything, as most people had experienced through an increased cost of living.

“The boat harbour is not immune to it. We are looking at potential cost overruns,” he said.

A risk management report to the council’s risk and assurance committee on August 4 said the council had made a request to Kānoa, the MBIE’s regional economic development and investment unit, jointly with Ngāti Awa, in May, to reallocate Te Ara Hou funding into the Te Rāhui Herenga Waka Boat Harbour.

The first sods were turned on this project in August last year but there has been no further activity because of the potential for contamination of soil at the site.

Mayor Victor Luca confirmed the council had given approval for its chief executive to go ahead and explore options.

Chief executive Steph O’Sullivan said since 2019, the council and communities had experienced unanticipated events, including the eruption of Whakaari/White Island, the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting global economic shock and 30-year high inflationary pressure.

“These circumstances, along with community feedback on the wider Te Ara Hou project, plus other contextual changes, including the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Future Proof Project to strengthen our Whakatāne town centre flood defences, means council needs to re-consider options.

“To that end, particularly to ensure we protect this significant PGF investment into our district, we have been working with our Crown funding partners to consider the use of the investment across the broader Whakatāne regeneration programme outcomes.

“However, no decision has yet been made regarding the PGF funding.”

Regional council chief executive Fiona McTavish said the regional council acknowledged the importance of the riverfront promenade and community feedback on the riverfront revitalisation project.

“We are working with Whakatāne District Council and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa to ensure greater community safety as part of this riverfront revitalisation project.

“In collaboration, stage one of Project Future Proof is now underway.”

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.