17 Jul 2018

Coromandel businesses suffer as 'lifeline' roads cut in storms

7:42 am on 17 July 2018

Businesses in the Coromandel have been feeling the pinch after stormy weather closed the roads in the area.

They say regular road closures, bad weather, and slips mean visitors are staying away.

Coromandel road blocked again following slips

Roads in the Coromandel were blocked by flooding and slips Photo: RNZ / YouTube

The peninsula was cut off at the weekend after slips and flooding shut state highways on the peninsula.

The closure of State Highway 25, which follows the coast and connects Coromandel to the rest of the country, and SH25A, the Kopu-Hikuai Road, meant there was no way many people could exit or enter the region during the weekend. SH25 remained closed this morning while SH25A was partially open.

Tapu Creek Campervan Park owner Debbie, who also manages the Shelley Beach Top10 Holiday Park, said business had been slow since theJanuary storm which isolated the region for days on end.

On Sunday three bookings fell through because of the weekend deluge, she said.

"Without a doubt the Thames road going out has had a big impact.

"They've had so much work being done on the actual remaking the road that they probably haven't had enough time to concentrate on the banks either, so we're probably going to get more slips from that as well."

District mayor Sandra Goudie said storms had been detrimental to the local economy, and state highway closures had a severe effect on businesses.

"That's our lifeline. When it's closed and impassable or down to one lane, it has a severe impact on the economic viability further north. So it's been devastating for some businesses."

Neil, who runs Dickson Holiday Park with his wife, said the business had been running okay, but was aware things weren't as rosy for other holiday park owners.

He said often people would avoid coming to the Coromandel area because there was a perception of "trouble all the time".

"With the flooding, we've had a bit of rain but there was just a high tide - and fortunately no onshore wind.

"A high tide and lots of rain, well, you're going to get flooding. It's just a natural occurrence of nature."

He would like to see the Transport Agency focusing on strengthening the banks instead of just the roads.

The agency's Waikato systems manager, Karyn Boyt, said work to protect roads from slips would be carried out this summer, now that roads were repaired after the massive January storm.

Ms Boyt said that repair work had cost $18 million, and the agency had identified sites where it would build additional rock walls and other protection.

Thames Business Association chairperson Heather Moore said the region is geographically unstable and slip-prone, so there wasn't a lot that could be done when a storm ripped through.

She says the only upside was stranded guests who booked in for an extra night but that was little comfort for businesses contending with regular cancellations.