Media Release: Residents invited to hear update on planned Carters Beach stopbank
Residents invited to hear update on planned Carters Beach stopbank
Residents from Westport’s Carters Beach and immediate surrounds attended a meeting last night to hear plans for a stopbank in their area.
This work is being carried out by West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) with support from Resilient Westport.
Council Chief Engineer Peter Blackwood addressed around 100 people present with information on the engineering behind the planning, the planned alignment, dimensions and timing of stopbank construction to protect the Westport suburb of Carters Beach.
“We know the people of Carters Beach have been wanting to know for quite some time what is planned for them in terms of flood protection, particularly when their area didn’t receive any specific funding via central government. We are pleased to have reached the point where we can share our plans and gather feedback from residents.
“In some cases, the planned alignment will go through a resident or landowner’s property or very close by. There is a small number of properties in the vicinity of Carters Beach that unfortunately won’t be protected by the stopbank. Therefore, it was extremely important for us to talk directly to the affected residents first, before sharing this information more widely, to give them an understanding of what is planned and how it might affect them.
“When we complete the stopbank at Upper Buller (up-river from the Buller Bridge) to help protect Westport township from flooding from the Buller River, this unfortunately increases the flooding risk for Carters Beach, on the opposite bank downstream. West Coast Regional Council is committed to reducing that risk as much as possible. We have carried out comprehensive preliminary investigations into flood mitigation options for the area, including river and flood modelling and preliminary geotech investigations.
“We feel that we have landed on the best solution in terms of cost and efficiency and for the community. We’ve considered how best we can minimise disruption to land and property owners and important transport links such as SH67A to Carters Beach and beyond,” says Mr Blackwood.
West Coast Regional Council Chair, Peter Haddock says for the most part people were receptive to the information at last night’s meeting, with a comprehensive question and answer session wrapping up the meeting.
“We know they have to go away and think about it, and we are sure there will be more questions. One aim from the meeting was to open up two-way channels of communication so residents know how to get hold of us and we can communicate more regularly with residents as we go along. We still need to do more investigating, and the planned alignment might change after further investigation and more detailed design, so it’s important we can keep people posted on those developments. We also know that this work isn’t likely to take place for at least another year, with consenting and associated consultation, ongoing engagement with the community and detailed design still to come, as well as firming up costs and funding. But we have delivered an undertaking to this community that we will deliver them flood protection and that’s what we intend to do,” says Mr Haddock.
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Note for editors
Details of the planned Carters Beach stopbank:
The height will range between 2.5 to 3.3 metres, depending on the location (with gently sloping sides).
The width at the base will be around 20 to 24 metres.
The stopbank will be an earthen structure approximately 2.4kms long
The stopbank will cross over private property, Buller District Council land, DOC land and the Westport Golf Club.
Discussions with NZTA about the stopbank’s travel over SH67A are progressing well.
Estimated construction dates: mid 2026 - late 2026 (subject to funding and consenting).