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Time in paradise is up for Matatā residents living in a red-zoned debris flow risk area, after a plan change has deemed their land and family home uninhabitable.
Time in paradise is up for Matatā residents living in a red-zoned debris flow risk area, after a plan change has deemed their land and family home uninhabitable.
Greg Fahey is the last man standing in Matatā residents’ fight against managed retreat. It might not look like much, but it's his and he's damned if he's going to let local councils tell him he can't live there. While one local previously promised war if authorities tried to kick him out, the only war here has been one of attrition. One by one, the owners in the potential path of any debris funnelling down Awatarariki Stream have signed up to Whakatāne District Council’s buyout offer. While the council still calls it voluntary managed retreat, residents say it’s been anything but.
When the offer expired on 31 October, 25 property owners had accepted the deal. A legal change on 31 March, 2021 will effectively evict any remaining residents, by removing their rights to live on their own land. Dominico Zapata/Stuff The rebuilt Matatā waterfront, before houses began being moved or demolished, as residents accepted managed retreat offers. (File photo) The residents’ association was due to challenge that rule change in a week-long Environment Court hearing this month. There will instead be a half day hearing on 15 December. While it is not clear exactly which remaining...