Owners favour dam, rates rise

Some property owners in the worst-hit part of disaster-ravaged Matata say they would prefer to pay $2000 extra in rates a year rather than abandon their million-dollar beachfront sections without compensation from the local council.

The Whakatane District Council has said it is under no legal obligation to pay compensation to 57 affected property owners in the western part of town by the Awatarariki Stream if, as a group, they choose not to rebuild on their sections.

The property owners had thought they would be paid full market value if they chose the council's "retreat from hazard" option.

Now, they are being asked to pay the extra rates for a dam to be built that would aim to prevent a repeat of the May 18 floods and debris flows of mud, rocks and trees that swept through the town. The council presented the options at a meeting with Awatarariki residents on Wednesday night.

Property owner Rob Pearce said yesterday the best option was the dam.

"Bugger it, build the dam and we'll pay the extra rates," he said. "It's either that or take nothing and get out of there and possibly shut the doors on the town."

He and other property owners were at first reluctant to accept the dam proposal because of ongoing maintenance costs.

Even now, Mr Pearce said the best hope for Matata was not the dam, but to pray there was not another May 18.

"We've just got to hope that this one-in-200-year event happens in another 200 years."

Earlier on Wednesday, the council announced decisions on options for other parts of the town.

It said it had decided on a retreat-from-hazard option in the central and Waimea areas, meaning it would not buy any properties there and future development proposals would have to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The council planned to spend $400,000 on channel improvement for the Waimea Stream, saying the work would reduce flood risk for properties by the stream and minimise the risk of future debris flows.

For the Waitepuru catchment area, at the eastern end of town and also severely damaged, the council would spend $1.54 million on embankments to catch debris and $780,000 on a flood overflow channel into the town's eastern lagoon.

The council also decided to appoint a project manager to oversee the works.

Whakatane Mayor Colin Holmes said the options chosen aimed to balance long-term solutions with the burden on the community and the district.