Channel Rd and Riverside School Rd bridges got a stay of execution yesterday after a council meeting heard no public consultation had been conducted with residents over the fate of the bridges.
Multiple councillors said they were reluctant to make a decision to close the bridges after discovering no consideration had been given to the impact on the residents and their livelihoods.
Mary Lindsay, representing the Riverside School Rd community, pointed out the communities were yet to be consulted, which is required by law.
Ms Lindsay challenged points in the document including community activities, travel distances and traffic volume numbers.
She felt some points were "a bit misleading".
The bridges were often used for stock movements, which had not been considered nor had the two volunteer firefighters who would need to travel an extra 20minutes in the event of a call out.
The report cited multiple "as the crow flies" distances.
"We actually don’t travel by crow ..."
Cr Julie Keast said the council could not afford to make "half-baked" decisions based on insufficient information.
It needed to know who used the bridges, how they were used and how lives would be impacted by a closure.
"Communication needs to be top of the list and our communities need to be alongside it."
Cr Margie Ruddenklau also said the community needed to be kept informed and have time to find viable alternatives — walking stock an additional 15km was not acceptable.
The report was anonymously voted to be removed from the table and council strategic roading manager Hartley Hare was instructed to consult with the community without delay before reporting back to the council, as time was running short on Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency funding.
Mr Hare said, via video conferencing, NZTA-approved funding ran out in June 2024.
Time would be tight if a decision was reached to replace the bridge, from the approval to completion.
"We run the risk we don’t utilise our full level of funding over the remaining 18 months we have left in this funding period."
Mayor Rob Scott said they did not want to miss out on funding but there was insufficient information to make a comfortable decision.
"We need to address this urgently given the timeframe of what is sitting in front of us."
Cr Don Byars expressed his concern at the repeat work which staff were having to undertake.
Mr Scott said he understood there was no silver bullet when it came to making decisions around bridge closures. The council needed to replace 137 bridges between now and 2031. More would need to be closed, but he was reluctant to support closures without the necessary information.
Channel Rd bridge has been limited to light vehicles only, but staff have recommended it be closed permanently instead of being included in the council bridge replacement programme.
