Stuff today reported on a stoush between Napier City Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. Hawke’s Bay disagrees with Napier’s decision to mark a potentially flood-prone parcel of land as suitable for developing 660 homes upon.
Commenting on this, Taxpayers' Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:
“While Hawke’s Bay ratepayers still carry the can in the event of a natural disaster, it’s natural for the regional council to be a tad gun-shy about development. That then begs the question, why are ratepayers carrying the risk?”
“Private insurance exists for a reason. It’s insurance firms’ entire purpose to work out what risks are financially sensible. Councils second-guessing this simply drives up costs.”
“If we’re wanting to climb out of a national housing crisis, we need to stop Councils getting stuck with the legal risks of consenting.”
“Flood defences should be factored into the private cost of a development, if that’s what potential homeowners want to pay for. Denying homebuyers that choice in the long run only ends up denying people the ability to buy homes at all.”
Who Carries the Can for Bailing-out Flooded Napier Homes?
Do you like this post?
