Future to be Decided for Ngā Tapuwae o Toi Track This Morning

Four years after the track first closed, Council will meet about a path forward this morning.

The Councils' Projects and Services Committee will decide the fate of the track this morning. 

In 2022, the Council set aside $651,000 for restoration and an additional $451,000 was secured from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in 2023. 

However, since a second slip in 2023, an investigation has been taking place. 

"The geotechnical evidence shows that even with significant engineering works, this section of track faces very high ongoing landslide risk," General Manager Community Experience, Alexandra Pickles said. 

Technical reports showed there had been 49 slips over 70 years, and the potential for future slips remains high.  

Four options will be presented at the meeting. 

The first option would be to place boardwalks over both landslides. 

Work would include rock anchoring systems and extensive slope stabilisation.  

Council said this method would require ongoing investment as the risk of future damage would remain high. 

Option two includes construction of a 70-metre staircase on an alternate route. 

The staircase would bypass the current landslides but use sections of existing track where possible. 

It would also go around the historic pā site. 

Council said Ngāti Hokopū hapū confirmed "There was 'agreement in principle'," over the redirection. 

However, there were concerns about highlighting the pā for fear of public disruption. 

It said this option would reduce but not eliminate landslide risk. 

The third option would see a permanent closure between West End and Ōtarawairere Point Lookout. 

The final option is an investigation into new routes to bypass areas of concern but still reconnect to the full loop. 

This is the staff-recommended option. 

While a recommendation has been made, Pickles said this does not mean a final decision has been reached. 

"Staff provide recommendations based on technical assessments, but elected members weigh up that technical information alongside community sentiment and input." 

"This is sometimes why staff recommendations differ from final Council decisions. Elected members can choose or amend any option or propose something different," she said. 

Council said volunteers have been enthusiastic, but reports have shown a more complex picture. 

Organiser of a volunteer run proposal to re-open the existing track Angus Robson, said he hopes the Council will consider their proposal. 

The current cost of the closure to the community is in the millions, he said. 

Robson points to a Motu Trails economic analysis. 

He said the trails have 17,000 visitors per year, which brings $3 million into Ōpōtiki annually, as well as a health and wellbeing value of $2.7 million. 

"Our visitor numbers aren't a lot different, but we've been super conservative, and we believe that the value of reopening the West End track to the district is at least $1.5 million a year," he said. 

Robson stressed an alternate route would take an additional two years to build, which would bring the total economic loss to $9 million. 

Council said it would continue working with DOC and Ngāti Awa for tourism opportunities alongside track work. 

While the recommendation is for an alternative route, Robson has concerns the proposed route would be too steep for kids and the elderly and would take an extended amount of time to build. 

Robson hopes his proposal will be accepted because it would be "fully funded to repair the existing route, which would be a low risk. There's no cost whatever to the council for the repair and could happen almost immediately." 

Council and Mayor Nándor Tánczos have expressed concerns about the safety of a volunteer-run project. 

After discussions with contributors to the Workplace Act in 2015, Robson said the only way anyone could be liable is if the design, as well as the health and safety plans, are not to industry standards. 

Council expressed last year that the main concerns were the risk of ongoing costs due to slips and any potential harm. 

Robson claimed even with an alternative route, slip risk is not going to be eliminated. 

"It's not just the track area, it's all up behind West End and along Pohutukawa (Ave)," he said.  

Due to this, he said slips are a natural feature of the landscape which needs to be dealt with when they happen. 

In terms of risk to those on the track, "We're proposing that the track be closed during or after heavy rain," and for a further 24 hours after that, he said. 

He said closure would occur if rainfall reached 100 millimetres in one event, or 200 millimetres over 72 hours. 

The meeting will be held at the Whakatāne District Council in the Tōtara room at 9 am this morning.