Media Release: Regional Council philosophical about funding setback
Media Release
Resilient Westport
8 September 2026
Regional Council philosophical about funding setback
The West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) is remaining resolute in its determination to deliver flood protection for Carters Beach after a recent government decision not to allocate Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) funding to the stopbank.
Chair Colin Smith says, “Council is disappointed about the decision, but we are committed to building the Carters Beach stopbank and seeking external funding to help.”
WCRC was informed last week that the funding application for Carters Beach which was included in a broader $84 million national package of funding for flood protection from13 Regional Councils was not successful in securing funding under Tranche 2.1 of the government’s RIF funding scheme. Central Government instead prioritised other infrastructure investment over the national flood protection package.
Just over $6.7 million was requested, which under a 60:40 arrangement, would have involved a Crown contribution of around $4 million, with the balance to be met out of local share.
Chief Executive Officer, Darryl Lew says Regional Council would have welcomed the additional funding to help reduce the rates burden.
“In terms of our financial planning, a contribution from the government had not been included in the costings recently shared with the community in relation to the Westport Flood Protection Scheme reset, meaning there is no change to the information recently shared.
“Obviously, this is disappointing, especially when we felt we had some really productive conversations over the application and had returned some unspent funding on an unrelated project to the RIF,” says Mr Lew.
The package of funding that was declined, is however included in the $400 million ‘Before the Deluge 3’ Business Case that has been presented to Government and other political parties through the Infrastructure Commission pipeline of infrastructure work.
“We will not stop seeking external funding to help support flood protection in Westport, but in the meantime, nothing changes our commitment to delivering this programme of work.
“We recognise the community has had a lot to absorb with our recent announcements about a funding shortfall, and this could feel like another blow. We understand this can cause frustration and even anxiety about what is going to happen next. The fact is a significant amount of work, planning and effort is going on behind the scenes to bring about additional external funding, and we aren’t about to stop in our efforts to bring the scheme to fruition.
“We are continuing with our Special Consultative Procedure for a month starting 21 September 2026 and will be holding two community information meetings on 22 and 24 September at the NBS Theatre in Westport (6.30pm) where people can ask more,” says Mr Lew.
The community can also find information on the revised scheme and special consultation process on the Resilient Westport website: www.resilientwestport.co.nz
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For further information please contact:
Resilient Westport Communications team