Land Transport (Roading)

Road Subsidy Cuts to Hit Ratepayers' Pockets

Help avoid the decrease in the FAR rate ...

If the NZTA proposal to reduce Ruapehu's Funding Assistance Rate (FAR) goes ahead, Ruapehu ratepayers will be faced with a funding shortfall of $463,000 that would require a rate rise of 2.4% to compensate. This would put Ruapehu ratepayers facing four difficult alternative options. These are:

Increase Council rates to make up the shortfall.
Reduce the planned work programme.
Reduce the level of service which could include returning some sealed roads back to gravel.
A mixture of the above options.

To help avoid this scenario, we are asking that Ruapehu residents and ratepayers are proactive and email or write to the MInister of Transport, Hon Steven Joyce, urging him to recognise Ruapehu's unique circumstances and to emsure that Council's letter dated 21 September 2001 and the case Ruapehu raises for retention of the FAR rate, is taken to the Governance Board of NZTA for a decision.

The links below provide copies of Council's correspondence to/from the Minister, as well as other relevant information.

Template Letter to Minister

In the table below is a link to print off a letter to send to Minister Joyce. You can add additional comment or write your own letter. If you write your own letter, please ensure you include the last paragraph in the template letter that requests a decision from NZTA Governance Board on Ruapehu's FAR.

Note that you don't need a stamp when sending a letter to a Minister of the Crown.

Reduction in Council's FAR Rate - Relevant Documents	Click to View
Council's Letter to Hon Steven Joyce - 21 September 2011- Setting out position and requesting assistance	View
Letter from Geoff Dangerfield, NZTA - 29 September - Acknowleding discussion with Minister of Transport	View
Council's Further Letter to Hon Steven Joyce - 28 October - Expressing Concern that Firist Letter had not gone to NZTA Board	View
Press Release:- 26 September - Council Seeks Ministerial Support for FAR Reduction Challenge	View
Press Release - 21 November - Residents Urged to Lobby MInister on FAR Subsidy	View
Template - Letter to MInister Steven Joyce (PDF, 44kb)	View
Template - Letter to Minister Steven Joyce (MS Word, 25 kb)	View
Send email to Minister Steven Joyce	View

River Valley Meetings – Minor Improvements

Council’s Land Transport team began a programme of river valley meetings to talk to its rural communities about where they see the safety concerns on their roads. This initiative follows public submissions to Council's Annual Plan processe about desired value and levels of service from the road network servicing rural communities. The Land Transport team is discussing these local issues at three river valley meetings each year and allocating approximately $50,000 per valley to be spent on minor road improvements.

Local road users are urged to identify sites that are of a concern to them and these sites are programmed and completed. The jobs can often be quite minor – installing a sight rail at a drop off or cutting back a corner to improve visibility – but they make a big difference to the everyday use of the road. The video in the links features feedback from Councillors, residents and Council team members involved in the River Valley meetings in recent years.

Forms	Click to View
Application for Temporary Road Closure	View
Application for Works Carried Out Under Bond	View
Corridor Access Request Form / Vehicle Crossing Application	View
No Spray Agreement (No Kerb/Footpath) Rural	View
No Spray Agreement (No Kerb/Footpath) Urban	View
Permit: Vehicle Dimension and Mass	View
Request for House and RAPID Number	View
Relocate Building Application Form - Street Damange Bond Application	View
Road Encroachment - Licence to Occupation Application	View
Works Approval Notice	View
Works Completion Notice	View

Links	Click to View
Land Transport Asset Management Plan	View
Land Transport Bylaw 2006	View
Land Transport Bylaw 2006 - Map Index	View
Land Transport Policy	View
Land Transport Programme	View
Report on River Valley Safety Safety Improvements	View