Eskdale resident Connie Lilley pictured in front of her elevated home, which has now been moved out of Category 3. Photo / Warren Buckland
Eskdale resident Connie Lilley pictured in front of her elevated home, which has now been moved out of Category 3. Photo / Warren Buckland
Eskdale resident Connie Lilley received a call on Wednesday night informing her she could now stay put in her family home.
She has been trying for months to have her home north of Napier - which did not flood during Cyclone Gabrielle - removed from Category 3 and placed in Category 1.
Confirmation came this week that the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) had shifted the classification of her family home into the lower category, meaning they can continue living there.
“It has given us a bit of a lift. It looks like we might be able to get back to some normality.”
Floodwaters stopped about one metre short of their residence off State Highway 5 behind Eskdale Church during the February floods, and she could not “see the point of wasting a good house during a housing crisis” if they remained in Category 3.
Their entire property was provisionally included in Category 3 on June 1 and a large part of their 10-acre lifestyle block will remain in that high-risk category, except for the house and a small section of land.
Category 3 refers to areas that have been deemed unsafe to live on due to unacceptable flood risks, while Category 1 means an area is deemed safe for living.
Lilley speaking to National leader Chris Luxon about her case during a visit to Eskdale on Monday. Photo / Warren Buckland
Esk Valley has the most properties of any area in Hawke’s Bay included in Category 3, with 110 properties in that category as of last week, followed by Pākōwhai with 106 properties.
“[It means] we have a viable asset,” Lilley said of their re-categorisation. “As long as the house is Category 1 - not that we are planning on going anywhere - in the future, our asset is intact.”
Their property also includes Eskdale Cattery, which was badly flooded and is on lower ground. No cats died in the cyclone as they were evacuated to higher ground.
“We are just going to chug along and tidy up, and I’m seriously considering getting the repairs done on the cattery and maybe setting it up as a boutique cattery.”
She did not mind that much of their property including the cattery were in Category 3, as that land can still be used for commercial purposes or grazing.
Lilley said she understood the HBRC was extremely busy, but she still believed the process of communication could have been better.
“The transparency and communication at the regional council does need working on.”
She said she lodged her first online feedback form to the council around late June asking for a review of her property categorisation, only finding out the outcome this week.
She said even a call or email updating them on the process would have been appreciated.
Meanwhile, others are still fighting to have their provisional categorisation decisions overturned before they are locked in.
The categorisation review process
The deadline for placing feedback on provisional Category 3 decisions - including asking for a review - passed last week for Esk Valley, Tāngoio and Pākōwhai, and communities like Rissington and Dartmoor had until Thursday, September 7 to have a final say.
HBRC is looking to move its list of Category 3 homes and properties - numbering 328 properties as of last week - from provisional to final around mid-September.
That will allow the Hastings and Napier councils to begin voluntary house buyouts with those property owners around early October, if all goes to plan.
The HBRC confirmed anyone who had placed feedback by the cut-off dates and was still waiting on a reply on categorisation reviews would still receive a response.
National leader Christopher Luxon announced on Monday during a visit to Eskdale he will introduce a Cyclone and Flood Recovery Ombudsman if elected next month, who would solely be focused on cyclone and flood disaster matters.
That ombudsman will have powers to review decisions such as land categorisations or house buyout valuations.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins responded by saying the existing ombudsman can already review decisions such as land categorisation.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
