The early arguments for restoring – or not – Marlborough Sounds roads

5:48 pm on 22 June 2023

Blenheim resident Cliff Cowan purchased his property in the Kenepuru Sound four years ago. Photo: Stuff / Anthony Phelps

Cliff Cowan has only had his bach in the Kenepuru Sound for four years.

"A big plus for us was that it had the road access," Cowan said.

"I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known the road might get cut off. We need to have something permanent."

Cowan was at the first of several drop-in sessions this week as the Marlborough District Council presented its road-map to rebuilding the Marlborough Sounds infrastructure, which was badly damaged during flooding in July 2021 and August 2022.

The council had landed on different "emerging preferred options" for five separate areas of the Sounds; Rai Valley to French Pass; Pelorus; the outer Sounds (Kenepuru Rd); Queen Charlotte Drive and Port Underwood.

The trickiest was Kenepuru Rd, due to its "geological instability", so the council had proposed to take a "balanced approach", estimated to cost $60m for the roading network and $40m for marine infrastructure.

How the region paid for the work remained to be seen, but could be thrashed out through public submissions and consultation.

Cowan had taken advantage of a barge subsidy introduced post-flood and used a Cougar Line boat to access his property. But he had also driven in recent times too, which took about 30 minutes longer than it used to.

"I was down there just two weeks ago. It wasn't good. The potholes there are the big thing, they are horrendous, I've had to slow down.

"Speed doesn't matter, we just need a road. Even a single lane, that doesn't matter, I'd be happy with that."

Repairs on Queen Charlotte Drive between Havelock and Picton in March. Photo: Stuff / Anthony Phelps

He thought there were different options that needed to be explored.

Like a road user tax, or higher rates for out-of-towners, or even looking at speed restrictions. Cowan said he was happy to pay higher rates if it meant having the road.

"If they get the road up and going good again, maybe they should put a toll gate on there. For tourism and that sort of thing, for the upkeep and the future."

He felt sorry for the businesses - the sheep and beef farmers, the honey producers, the tourism providers - and there were plenty of them affected.

"Those businesses have got a big investment down there."

The council was working on the assumption Waka Kotahi would fund about half the $160m it would cost to fix the roads.

Ratepayers across the region would need to cover the rest. With inflation, the actual cost to council - and ratepayers - came in at $95m. It meant the average ratepayer, with a land value of $300,000, could end up paying an extra $300 a year for 20 years to pay off that debt.

Phoebe Eatwell went to the first public meeting for the Marlborough Sounds Future Access Study at Lansdowne Park in Blenheim. Photo: Stuff / Anthony Phelps

"We just need a road," Phoebe Eatwell said at the Lansdowne Park drop-in session on Tuesday night.

The Eatwells have had their home at the Kenepuru Heads since 1979. Eatwell's father, the late Rod Eatwell, received a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) for the three decades of work he put into the Kenepuru Walkway, which later became the Queen Charlotte Track.

She said being forced out onto a boat if the road was not built back strong enough would not work, because the area she would need to anchor in was riddled with mud and was too silty.

Eatwell said when her family first got to Kenepuru, the road was "rubble".

As a youngster, she said the only area that was sealed was at Portage, because it was a tourist hotspot, and the rubble created too much dust for visitors.

"It was quite a big deal once you got to the Portage.

"You would have been driving around in the dust, with your head sticking out. You needed to stop at the Portage to have a break, and a lemonade or a beer, because the road was so bad."

Eatwell said her father spent a lot of effort in getting the road sealed and sat on the roading committee that made it happen.

"They're saying we're lucky enough to go out there by boat and be subsidised, but what happens when the subsidy dries up?

"I know many people see this [Kenepuru] as a luxury, but it's an expensive thing."

A map of Kenepuru Rd shows where improvements are planned. Photo: Stuff / Anthony Phelps

She had invested in a 4WD because of the state of the road, which was full of potholes and not well maintained.

"They haven't done any maintenance for years. They haven't replaced any culverts. If they'd [council] done that, we wouldn't be where we are now."

Retired Blenheim resident Robin Cox attended the drop-in session out of curiosity.

He did not need to use the Marlborough Sounds roads all that much. Not like he used to, back when he was a Department of Conservation ranger.

It was "obvious" some of the roads needed maintained, "because of the production that comes from it, in particular the mussel industry for Elaine Bay", Cox said.

But he thought there had to be a serious look at logging and trucking standards given the fragility of the network.

He thought the roads should be reinstated "as much as possible" for private vehicle use.

"Beyond that, I think there needs to be a justified economic reason for continuing it.

"As a local ratepayer, retired and on an average income, the mention of a $300 a year rate increase for the whole of Marlborough is, in my mind, untenable.

"It's got to be a mixture of user pays or a district zone rate to cover some of that. I suppose the exception would be the Queen Charlotte Dr, because that's a pretty high use road with towns involved.

"When you look further into the Sounds, you're talking a sparse population, many holiday homes, so they're not permanent residents."