Councillors have backed a proposed $1.4m road extension to secure access to the Amberley Beach Golf Course.
The Hurunui District Council backed a proposal, which was originally presented to the council three years ago by the Amberley Beach Golf Club, by 5-4, with two councillors abstaining.
The decision means the council can get on with negotiating land purchases and preparing a tender to extend Griersons Ave to secure long term access to the golf course, which was threatened by coastal erosion.
The new road would also provide access to Waimaiaia 899 Reserve, the mouth of the Waipara River and the northern beach.
Councillors had instructed staff in September to provide a report comparing options for road access and to engage with the Amberley Beach community.
Staff said a proposed western alignment to the north of the golf course would likely be cheaper and provide more longevity.
But the golf club had expressed its opposition to the proposal, as it could lose access to its clubhouse and the use of up to three of the 18 holes.
The original estimate for the Griersons Rd extension was $3m, but the cost has been reduced thanks in part to the efforts of golf club volunteers in working on the design.
The council has already obtained a resource consent from Environment Canterbury in June, which included provision for two culverts over wetlands.
Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said he estimated the cost, including land purchases and construction of the new road, would cost less than $1.4m.
The reserve status of Department of Conservation land would need to be considered, but Dobbie said this could be sped up by obtaining a licence to occupy.
Councillors Robbie Bruerton and Dave Hislop said it was time the council made a decision.
“We’ve been looking at this for three years and the golf club has been working on this with the council,” Bruerton said.
“We’ve managed to get the costs down from half of the original estimate.”
But Vince Daly said the proposal went against the council’s Amberley Beach Coastal Adaptation Plan, where the council recently purchased land for the possible future relocation of the Amberley Beach village.
Tom Davies said he was concerned it could become “a road to nowhere”, if the golf club had a shorter lifespan than the road.
Davies and Mayor Marie Black abstained in the vote.
Golf club members Paul Wylie and Bruce Yates had earlier presented to the meeting, calling on the council to get on and start work by the end of February.
They said they believed the cost would be under $1m.
The golf club had around 300 members, with an average age in their late 50s. “It means we have a lot of voluntary labour,” Yates said.
But Dobbie said the tender was unlikely to go out before Christmas, meaning he did not expect construction of the road would begin in February.
It was unlikely the council would get any new funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, with the project to be loan funded.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
