Council hears from residents, opts to proceed with rating change and transport proposal planning

Waikato Regional Council will proceed with a proposal to pick up responsibility for rating for public transport services in the Thames-Coromandel, Hauraki and Matamata-Piako districts.

The decision was made during public hearings and deliberations held on Monday on a proposed amendment to the council’s 2021-2031 Long Term Plan (LTP).

The amendment was put forward as part of the preparation of council’s 2022/23 Annual Plan and was publicly consulted on in April.

Chair of the Regional Connections Committee Angela Strange said: “The volume and quality of submissions has been so encouraging this year, including 155 written submissions. Alongside the excellent feedback presented virtually by residents, this really has helped to guide our decision-making.”

During the meeting, councillors received a summary of the public submissions showing that 79 per cent supported Waikato Regional Council taking over rating for public transport services in Thames-Coromandel, Hauraki and Matamata-Piako from those district councils.

A total of 77 per cent also supported the provision of new bus services in the Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki districts.

On the funding side, a majority of 64 per cent made it clear they supported new services in Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki only if 51 per cent of the cost was funded by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency or another appropriate source.

During the meeting, councillors heard that Waka Kotahi was unfortunately not in a position to fund additional services but that this could change over the course of the current three-year funding cycle.

Council Chair Barry Quayle said: “It was a pleasure to hear the presentations from members of the public and, in my first debate as Chair, fantastic to see such an insightful, lively, and nuanced discussion.

“After listening to feedback and weighing the options with great care, we have decided to take over rating for public transport services in all three districts.

“We’ve also agreed not to proceed with the proposed new services, but to continue with more public engagement and more detailed planning of routes and timetables for them, with information to come back to council on impacts and the availability of Waka Kotahi funding at a later date,” Cr Quayle said.

On this basis, the council won’t be making any provision for new services in these districts within the LTP amendment or annual plan. The compromise position, which staff advised was still within the scope of the original questions consulted on, ensured that councillors were able to keep the popular proposal for new services in Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki districts on the table. It also meant the council was able to respect the view of the public that providing new services without funding assistance from Waka Kotahi or another appropriate source was not supported.

Commenting on the outcome, Cr Denis Tegg, a staunch supporter of new transport services in his Thames-Coromandel constituency from the outset, said: “While it’s disappointing to see that funding has not been immediately forthcoming from Waka Kotahi to deliver services that clearly have such widespread community support, it’s really encouraging that council has heard and followed community sentiment on each of the proposals.

“It’s also great to see the door remains open to those new services, should the funding picture change. We will be strongly advocating for Waka Kotahi to take account of the strong expression of public support for new services that this consultation process has demonstrated,” Cr Tegg said.

This council meeting was livestreamed. To watch it, go to https://youtu.be/XcKngVWaSCU.