Big bill for landslips remediation work

Fixing the 18 landslips on Council land from the August storm to a standard that reduces future risk is going to cost $17.2 million, for which Nelson Mayor Nick Smith is seeking Government support.

“We need to do right by the 33 property owners affected by these 18 landslips and make them as safe as practical. Council’s legal obligation is to put the land back as it was, at a cost of $5 million, but this would leave the areas vulnerable to further slips in future. Reducing the future risk involves extensive engineering works at a cost of $12.2 million,” Mayor Nick says.

“I am seeking Government assistance for this ‘build-back better’ approach because the costs of the storm recovery are too much for Nelson ratepayers alone. There are benefits for Government in communities being more resilient to future storm events. It’s also about being fair to Nelson given the scale of Government support given to other regions grappling with disaster costs.

“The costs to Nelson of last August’s storm without this landslip remediation work is $57.1 million, of which $23 million is expected to be recovered from insurance and other sources leaving a net cost to Council of $34 million. The proposal I have put to Government is that the betterment portion of the landslip remediation works be shared 50/50, requiring $6 million in Government support. This will still push the total cost to Nelson ratepayers up to $45.1 million.

“The remedial work for these landslips affecting residential properties is the most complex of our storm recovery work. The repair to water damage from flooding is well advanced with most insurance cases settled. The work on repairing infrastructure and removing gravel from rivers is huge but advancing well. These landslips are the Achilles’ heel and most difficult part of the recovery. The timing of Nelson’s storm means we are ahead of the regions hammered by Cyclone Gabrielle but we are keen to share our experience with them to assist their recovery.”

There are two properties where the cost of necessary remediation works exceeds the value of the property and Council is engaged with the owners to compensate them by way of purchasing. This is a stressful situation for these property owners. Council is managing this difficult situation as fast as it is able and asks that the privacy of the families concerned be respected. 

“The completion of the geotechnical assessments means Council is now in the position to start the long-term landslip remediation works. We are cracking on with the design and consenting of this work because building back better and safer is the right thing to do for the city and for the residents who have been directly affected by these slips,” Mayor Nick says.

“The work involves 600m of timber barriers, 1500m2 of soil anchors, 150m of mesh catch fences, 3500m2 of erosion protection matting and 19,000m2 of revegetation.”

Mayor Nick says priority will be given to slips above red placard properties followed by yellow 2 and yellow 1 placard properties. Council has approved that the remedial programme be undertaken over two financial years (2023/24 and 2024/25). The physical work is due to start later this year after the completion of detailed designs and the securing of all necessary consents.

Recovery Manager Alec Louverdis says Council is cognisant of the need for these remedial works to be completed with as quickly as possible and thanked affected residents for their patience while this process was worked through.

“We appreciate it’s taken more than eight months to get to this point and we hope the decision the Council has reached to carry out remediation works will be another piece of the puzzle that will allow those who are still feeling the impacts of the August 2022 weather event to get on with their lives and we look forward to making positive progress.”

Mayor Nick says he acknowledges the work of Council staff, geotechnical consultants, the patience of affected homeowners and the Council taskforce, including Councillors Trudie Brand and Matty Anderson, in helping Council get to this point on the remediation work.