Road to Recovery: Mayoral Relief Social Recovery Fund opens
Published on 27 July 2023
Mayoral Relief Social Recovery Fund opens
The Mayoral Relief Social Recovery Fund is now open for applications - to address the needs of community organisations in our district who are supporting those affected by the cyclones earlier this year.
This Fund opened for applications from Monday 24 July until Monday 14 August, with distribution of funds by Saturday 30 September.
“This has been set up for local community organisations and social services who are facing increased costs from supporting their communities through this year’s weather events,” says our Mayor Len Salt.
This fund must benefit tangata whenua, community and voluntary social service organisations located within the Thames-Coromandel area.
The Social Recovery Fund supports the following:
1. Community events and activities that enliven affected communities.
2. Initiatives that enhance community connections and build community resilience.
3. Funding community groups to address costs related to an increase in demand for welfare needs related to the adverse weather events this year.
The maximum funding will be $10,000 per applicant. Both capital and operating costs can be applied for where they are contributing to one of the above criteria. This fund is GST inclusive.
This can include retrospective costs incurred since the Auckland Anniversary Weekend rain event that have not been funded to date. Our Council welcomes conversations with organisations working within the tangata whenua, community and voluntary social services sectors who feel their idea merits the involvement of our Council and can provide a direct or indirect benefit for the district.
Find out more Online application
No delays to SH25A progress
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has reported that that there have been no delays to their work to get SH25A reopened, with the contract with the preferred joint venture expecting to be finalised by the month’s end.
“It is quite normal for commercial negotiations to take some time on major construction projects” says Waka Kotahi’s Jo Wilton, Regional Manager of Infrastructure Delivery for Waikato/Bay of Plenty. “Because we are working to an accelerated timeframe, physical works are underway while commercial discussions to finalise details continue."
Local subcontractors are carrying out much of the enabling works at the site, such as clearing the site, setting up offices, drainage work, stabilising access tracks.
Design work on the bridge to span the collapsed portion of the road is well advanced and materials are on order and should be arriving soon.
Once things are in full swing, there’ll be up to 100 people working on the site with more people working off site on the fabrication of bridge components. Many of the workers will need local accommodation, which will provide an economic boost. Our Council will work with Waka Kotahi to find local accommodation for workers.
Black Jack Road
Permanent repairs to the two slip sites from the cyclones have been designed and will go to tender for construction. Construction work can only take place once the site has dried sufficiently. We anticipate this to be sometime around September/October with completion expected by Christmas.
Tapu-Coroglen Road
Permanent repairs to Tapu-Coroglen Road are expected to be completed by Christmas, weather and ground conditions permitting. The tender for the construction work is going out to the market this week.
The slip site is about 10km east of Tapu. Properties on either side of the slip area are accessible. Reopening Tapu-Coroglen Rd is a priority project for our Council.
In the interim, the road will remain closed. We would like to remind motorists to obey the signage and barriers preventing vehicles driving through this closed section of the road. The risks of slips and/or collapse are real and may occur without warning.
Our recovery roadmap
Our Council has create an accessible roadmap of milestones in our recovery efforts. This will be frequently updated as our recovery effort evolves.
Download our recovery roadmap now(PDF, 282KB)
New temporary speed reductions on SH25
(PDF, 655KB)
Over the next six to eight weeks Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency will introduce temporary speed reductions for sections of State Highway 25 (SH25) to manage safety risks due to an increase in traffic.
Click the image provided to download a PDF version.
Since the closure of State Highway 25A between Kōpū and Hikuai in late January following severe weather events, traffic has increased on SH25 as travellers use the highway to get to and from the east coast of the Coromandel.
“We’re pleased that Waka Kotahi has listened to the concerns we and our communities have raised on this issue,” says our Mayor Len Salt.
“We’ve understand the impact of increased traffic travelling at high speeds through local communities, in areas where there are pedestrians and cyclists and near schools/kura and marae,” says Cara Lauder, System Manager Waikato for Waka Kotahi.
“The community is also concerned about the increased risk of crashes and near misses on the narrow sections of road so we’re reducing speeds through the many small communities and along the winding sections along the Thames coast.”
A small change in speed can make a big difference to the outcome of a crash.
“New speeds of 50km/h, 60km/h and 80km/h will be introduced along much of the 54-kilometre route between Thames and Coromandel, and at a number of locations on the east coast, which should make it safer,” Ms Lauder says.
The new speeds will come into force in each location as signage is installed.
Waka Kotahi has worked closely with our Council to consider the wider impacts of the proposed safer speed limits on the local roading network.
In addition Waka Kotahi is continuing recovery and maintenance work, and scheduling this to minimise impacts on road users, landowners and communities.
The temporary speed reductions will be removed once the bridge reconnecting SH25A is open.
Preparation underway to market the Coromandel for summer visitors
Our Council, Hauraki District Council and our councils’ joint tourism marketing organisation, Destination Hauraki Coromandel, have been working together on a plan for marketing activity that will boost summer visitation.
The new summer campaign will kick off in October, in time for planning for the main tourism season, and will build momentum through the peak holiday period to boost effects into the Autumn shoulder. This seven-month period is when visitors spend the most money in the region, which is why our strategy is to target this period.
The new campaign makes use of $200,000 in tourism support funding that Coromandel Cyclone Recovery Minister (and Deputy Prime Minister) Carmel Sepuloni announced last week.
Meanwhile, Destination Hauraki Coromandel is currently advertising the Winter our Way campaign running until the end of August. This campaign helps to maintain a presence in the market, reminding potential visitors that we remain open for business and reasons why the Coromandel is a great holiday destination any time of year.
Check out their webpage here for more information.