Community-lead development programme Katikati Taiao chairwoman Jenny Hobbs said the unsuccessful bid for funding for a bypass around the town was devastating. Photo / File
Community-lead development programme Katikati Taiao chairwoman Jenny Hobbs said the unsuccessful bid for funding for a bypass around the town was devastating. Photo / File
Katikati's long-awaited bypass plans have again been put on the back burner.
The proposal to create a new road that would divert State Highway 2 around the Bay of Plenty town instead of running through its centre had been the sole Western Bay of Plenty project unsuccessful in a bidfor millions in Government funding.
Last month, Western Bay of Plenty District Council applied for $120 million in funding for 15 projects described as "shovel-ready" and expected to create jobs through the Government's Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) Economic Stimulus Process.
Fourteen were successful, for now. They include a cycleway from Ōmokoroa to Katikati and Waihī Beach, Ōmokoroa road safety upgrades and urbanisation, plus wastewater improvements.
To think it hadn't even got past the first step is unbelievable.
Seven will now be referred to the Government and another seven to the Provincial Development Unit (PDU) for a decision. The latter were considered as having the potential to fit within the scope of the Provincial Growth Fund.
Campaigners who have long fought for the $100m Katikati bypass have been left devastated.
The Katikati community first called for a bypass in 1923. In recent years, three petitions attracted more than 20,000 signatures, and three times, bypass plans were approved only to later be cancelled or delayed.
Heavy traffic on SH2 through Katikati's mainstreet is constant. Photo / File
Last year, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said it would not consider building the bypass until 2028.
Katikati Taiao chairwoman Jenny Hobbs said she had held great hope the bypass would finally be funded.
"Obviously, the National Land Transport Plan is oversubscribed and it looked very difficult to get funding for the bypass through [that]. I felt very hopeful the Government could see how important this was and the huge social cost from SH2.
"This is a huge disappointment, it's really crushing."
Hobbs said the Katikati community had almost given up hope of achieving the bypass, yet "the need for it gets greater every year".
An estimated 15,000 vehicles travel through the town each day.
Hobbs said the traffic and narrow corridor prevented Katikati from creating a town centre. Businesses and residents were left with noise, pollution and dirt.
"It does take a huge toll," she said.
"To think it hadn't even got past the first step is unbelievable."
Projects aimed at boosting local economies and aiding multi-modal shift were given preference in the CIP assessment process.
Western Bay council deputy chief executive Gary Allis said the council was excited at having 14 out of 15 infrastructure projects make the first stage of a major bid for funding. Photo / File
Western Bay Council deputy chief executive Gary Allis said the council was excited at the success of most projects reaching the next stage but it was clear "the decision making is in the hands of the Government and PDU".
"We are aware there is a way to go yet and there will be plenty of other parts of New Zealand also making a strong case for Government support," Allis said.
"We consider the projects applied for meet the test of shovel-ready and are able to proceed in a short time frame and will enable employment."
Allis said some projects could start immediately as variations to existing contracts, while others would take a few months of detailed design prior to proceeding.
Western Bay mayor Garry Webber was adopting a cautious approach, saying it was in the Government's hands now and there was still no guarantee the money would come through.
The Infrastructure Reference Group assessing the projects received submissions for 1924 projects with a combined value of $136 billion. A total of 802 have now been shortlisted for consideration.
The Government has not given a time frame for any decision.
Tauranga's $1b infrastructure bid progresses
Most of Tauranga City's 24 infrastructure projects that made up a $1 billion bid for Government funding have been successful, so far.
Last month, Tauranga City Council applied for the Government's Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) Economic Stimulus Process to help progress infrastructure plans.
The projects, categorised into a three-tier priority list, focus on maintaining a viable economy and creating capacity for growth plus housing and jobs. They include the Waiari Water Supply Scheme ($117m).
At a council meeting on Thursday, general manager of strategy and growth Christine Jones presented a breakdown of which projects were successful in the first stage of the funding process where they were assessed by the Infrastructure Reference Group. The group will now send 19 successful projects to the Government for consideration.
Five projects were ruled out: the Tauranga CBD recreation and leisure hub, Residential development opportunity, Te Papa Spatial Framework – early transport interventions, Western Corridor community facilities and Tauranga the Connected City.
Jones said if the remaining projects were approved, 80 per cent of the funding would operate as a loan from Government, while 20 per cent would be a grant.
"One hundred per cent grant projects were less likely to be successful than those which had contribution or other funding," she said.
The loan would ultimately be covered by developer costs, not ratepayers, she said.
