Hastings proposes rates remission for up to two years for cyclone-damaged properties

Properties in the Esk Valley in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / George Heard

Rates remission for owners of red and yellow-stickered homes as well as damaged orchards and farms could be offered for up to two years under a proposal by the Hastings District Council.

More than 800 homes and buildings suffered flood damage across Hastings district as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle in February, as well as orchards, vineyards, farms, forestry blocks and other businesses.

Hastings district was the hardest-hit district in Hawke’s Bay in terms of the number of damaged homes and properties.

After the cyclone, 103 damaged homes and buildings were red-stickered (meaning entry was prohibited), and 743 damaged homes and buildings were yellow-stickered (meaning restricted access only) across Hastings district.

Following the weather event, council automatically remitted rates for red-stickered properties through to June 30 this year.

Yellow-stickered property owners still need to apply for the remission if the sticker was assigned to their main dwelling or building, with the remission period applying from January to June of this year.

As at May 22, remissions for stickered properties totalled $706,000 within Hastings District.

On Friday, the council agreed to consult on changing its policy to enable the remissions scope to be extended.

That proposal includes for red and yellow-stickered properties to have their rates remission extended for up to two years.

A rates remission could also be extended to include damage caused to land that did not have stickered buildings or dwellings.

Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the policy change acknowledged the devastating and ongoing impact of the cyclone on people’s lives.

“We know that recovering from this disaster is going to take quite some time, and we want to support property owners who are unable to use their properties, have had their services impacted, or who have had their income affected from damage to their land,” Hazlehurst said.

For red-stickered properties, the remission would automatically be applied to each rates instalment for a period of two years, under the proposal.

For yellow-stickered properties, people would need to apply, and council would have the ability to apply the remission for up to two years.

People could also apply for remissions for a period of up to two years for severely eroded or impacted properties, including those with crop or pasture damage, where the land had become unusable or uneconomic.

If a building or property becomes reusable or relivable within that two years, the remissions could cease.

If properties that had previously received a rates remission were sold within a two-year period, the remission could also cease.

The proposal will be going out for public consultation for a period of two weeks soon.