Wairoa District Council’s high-scoring Land Transport Activity Management Plan continues to reinforce Wairoa’s case for increased government roading investment.

The roading plan, which supports local roading management, investment and enhancement, scored the top marks in the country with assessors describing Wairoa’s overall high score as “a remarkable achievement, especially given disruptions from Cyclone Gabrielle that the WDC has had to deal with.”

The Land Transport Activity Management Plan (LTAMP) was developed to support Wairoa’s investment case for the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) and contributed to a greater level of investment approved by NZTA than staff had expected, especially given the high national demand on the National Land Transport Fund.

Approximately $43 million was approved by NZTA for Wairoa’s local road operations, maintenance and renewal investment over the 2024-27 period; around 95% of what the Wairoa District Council requested.

The roading plan was developed as part of Council’s 2024 Long-Term Plan and the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP). It aims to justify the planned investment in road networks, which the Central Government can heavily subsidise. Wairoa’s current financial assistance rate for road maintenance and renewal is 75%, meaning that 25 cents in every dollar invested in the road network comes from community rates.

Road Efficiency Group assessors scored the Wairoa plan 2.92 out of 3, improving from the 2021 score of 2.65, which was also the highest in the country.

The Road Efficiency Group (REG) is a partnership between Local Government New Zealand and the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). It is tasked with supporting road controlling authorities (like Wairoa District Council) to improve activity management, make smarter investment decisions and continuously enhance transport sector performance. As part of this, REG assessors review all Land Transport Activity Management Plans (submitted by Councils to NZTA every three years) against robust assessment criteria based on REG Pillars of Success, considering the business case approach and international asset management principles.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said the Council recognises roading connectivity as a key priority. “Wairoa is a massive district with 875km of roading network, and many of these have been significantly impacted in recent years by Cyclone Gabrielle and other weather events. We are proud of the relationships we have with NZTA and the results that we achieve, which ultimately save costs for our ratepayers. We remain appreciative of the 75% financial assistance rate for road maintenance and renewal and are confident that with this support, we can continue to repair and improve roading resilience throughout the district.”

29 July 2025

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