‘Water taxis forever not viable’: Kenepuru residents make case for Sounds road

“There was a change in format,” Caddie said.

A Kenepuru resident says the message was given loud and clear at a recent roading meeting that water taxis in and out of the area can never be a long-term option, and the road needs to be fixed.

The Marlborough District Council recently wrapped up a series of public meetings across the Marlborough Sounds to gather information on what was needed for the roading network – after it was flood-damaged in both July 2021 and August 2022.

As part of that, the council was investigating what levels of service were needed on each road, and had warned some may never get put back the same.

The council held two meetings in Kenepuru Sound – a road where access is restricted to residents and emergency services only.

Central Sounds Residents' Association chairperson Andrew Caddie said residents told council representatives they wanted to take control of the meeting at Portage – rather than spend the whole time listening to a presentation.

“There was about seven five-minute presentations from people in the audience. They were eloquent about frustrations and about the way things were done.

“It came through loud and clear, and was repeated numerous times by speakers, that the idea that they would sever the road at some point and push people onto water transport was not viable.

The council had engaged engineering consultant Stantec NZ to investigate Marlborough’s roading network.

This came after they were told by Waka Kotahi they needed to “create a network back in the Sounds that is sustainable”, before any funding was released.

This would look at the cost of repairs, climate change, land stability, safety, alternatives to road if necessary, community and economic impacts of access changes and housing land stability risks.

It was a stark difference to the response from Waka Kotahi following flooding in July 2021, when they funded 95% of around $85m in repairs – without the council having to put a business case for- ward.

Caddie said it made no sense to not fix up the road, given “about 90%” of it was useable anyway.

“A significant proportion of the road is in good shape, there has got to be a road.

“The debate about the level of service on the road, that's a slightly different kettle of fish.

“Whether it be a road with restrictions in terms of vehicle weights and lengths that's sort of up for debate, but people were very clear that the idea of water transport was just not a goer.”

He said people also made it clear there had to be better maintenance on the road going forward.

“These events are becoming larger and more significant, so we have to be resilient and adapt.”

Marlborough District Council strategic planning and economic development manager Neil Henry told about 40 people at the Picton meeting they did not know how a change of Government would affect decision-making.

“We’re not the only region going through this and there will be other regions asking for support too.”

Meanwhile, at a meeting over Zoom, Stantec principal consultant Andrew Maughan said they intended to share the first evaluation of options by May.

“If you tell us what is important, why these roads are important to you, that helps us achieve some criteria for the types of options that are going to have the most positive impact for you,” Maughan said.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.