Media Release: Start date signalled for Avery’s stopbank in Westport

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Media Release

Resilient Westport

9 July 2026

Start date signalled for Avery’s stopbank in Westport

‍Work on building the Avery’s stopbank in Westport is likely to start in January 2027.

‍Resource Consent was recently granted for the stopbank and culvert to be located on Buller District Council reserve alongside Orowaiti Road.

‍The Avery's stopbank and culvert is being delivered by the West Coast Regional Council as part of the Westport Flood Protection Scheme.

‍Project Manager Phil Rossiter says there are a number of reasons why work can’t start earlier, the main one being that this is the first window where the work, once started, could be completed all in one go.

“Were we to start the work say in July or August, it would soon need to shut down again due to the constraints of the Resource Consent. This would impact the community in the immediate vicinity of the work, who would experience road closures, work activity and then an unfinished site, until we could return to work in January. This simply doesn’t make sense.

“The constraints of the Resource Consent relate to the Orowaiti Lagoon area being protected as a Coastal Marine Area.

‍“As a Coastal Marine Area, the Lagoon is home to native fish and migratory birdlife. The consent conditions protect these species at their most sensitive times of year. Work on the culvert and tidal gate can't take place during the whitebait migration season between September and October, and works in the Lagoon are limited over the spring and summer months when birds such as bar-tailed godwits and banded dotterels are present.

‍“Starting work in January will allow us to build the stopbank and the culvert (which is at the heart of the project) all at once and will pose the least inconvenience to whitebaiters and neighbouring properties on Orowaiti Road.

“The project team and contractor are agreed that delivering the whole job in a single continuous run from early 2027 is the better approach. It lands the work in the most reliable weather window, avoids fragmenting the programme, has a shorter impact on neighbouring residents and keeps costs down.

‍ “We know the community is keen to see progress, and so are we. Planning and pre-construction work continues in the meantime. The community will be notified once work is set to start. Those in the immediate vicinity will be given plenty of notice of works starting,” says Mr Rossiter.

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‍ ‍For further information please contact:

‍ ‍Resilient Westport Communications team

‍ ‍media@resilientwestport.co.nz

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