Successful Cyclone Gabrielle recovery funding bid for Horizons Region

Horizons Regional Council is thrilled to receive over $4.2 million from the Local Government Flood Resilience Co-Investment Fund to build resilience to the impacts of climate change and recover from Cyclone Gabrielle.
 

Horizons group manager catchment operations Dr Jon Roygard says the council applied for two packages of work which have received the full funding requested.
 
“The first is an initiative to upgrade flood forecasting and communications resilience across the region which will see improvements to early warning systems, updated flood forecasting models, new monitoring stations, radio upgrades, back-up power installations, regional flood mapping and a regional flood vulnerability study.  
 
“We have received $3.645 million for this project which is a significant level of funding and a large contribution to the $4.98 million needed for this work. Following discussions with Council, Horizons will look to make up the remaining funds required through its 2024-34 Long-term Plan.
 
“The second package includes $640,000 of government co-funding for a $1.2 million programme to reduce risk to people and houses in the Pohangina-Ōroua Catchment. This will involve a range of resilience upgrades through the area including support for work at a number of locations where communities have been at risk, such as the Pohangina Village.
 
“It will also include a contribution to an options assessment for flood protection at Saddle Road and will establish a stopbank at Tōtara Reserve to protect the grounds and surrounding road infrastructure.”
 
Dr Roygard says Horizons put careful consideration into the application to meet the criteria required and it’s brilliant to have received everything they asked for.
 
“On behalf of our communities we would like to thank central government for their support which vastly accelerates work that would have taken us years on our own,” he says.
 
“It also relieves some of the financial burden on ratepayers who have already contributed over $9 million to Cyclone Gabrielle repairs, plus what they’ve spent privately as well.
 
“Horizons will be working with the funding providers over the coming weeks and will get the programmes moving quicker straight away. The work involved in these packages will roll through next year and is planned to be completed by June 2025.
 
“Throughout the process we will be working with our emergency management partners including our city and district councils.”
 
The Local Government Flood Resilience Co-Investment Fund has been administered by the Cyclone Recovery Unit, which is part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.