Pākōwhai pictured during Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023 (file image). Photo: RNZ / Phil Pennington
A recently re-opened Hawkes Bay community hall severely damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle has been told it may need to be re-located to make way for a flood-protecting stop-bank.
Ever since the cyclone left behind silt, damaged wiring and ruined walls the Pākōwhai community and Hastings District Council has been in repair mode to get the Pakowhai Memorial Hall (Incorporated in 1946) up to spec.
On 5 October - and $300,000 later - district council mayor Sandra Hazlehurst attended the grand opening.
Hall secretary/treasurer John Reid said the council could not have been more supportive and the project would not have been completed if it was not for council money and staff time to oversee the project.
"It was a very special event for the community," he said.
But that enthusiasm was tempered by an email received from the Hawkes Bay Regional Council on 1 August saying it wanted to open a conversation about relocating the Pakowhai Hall because it was exactly where a stop bank was required to protect vulnerable homes.
"It's fair to say we were not happy about it," Reid said.
"It was their engineering solution which they thought would work best ... we didn't slam the door on them, but it hasn't gone down well."
He added that theoretically the hall could be moved, as it had been moved before, but someone would need to "throw enough money at it" for that to happen.
Reid said an added issue was as these discussions were being had, the hall committee was accepting quotes for the repairs to the carpark.
Money had come in from the Cyclone Gabrielle Appeal Trust and it needed to be spent by the end of September.
Luckily that has been deferred for several months.
Reid said it was a matter of waiting for the next set of plans to come out and see if changes have been made.
He acknowledged nearby home owners needed more protection with a stop bank, but whether it needed to go through the middle of the hall was another issue altogether.
Those plans, deferred by a month, should be out in November.
Reid said for now the community is happily booking the hall out for social events and activities.
The Hawke's Bay Regional Council said it is in the planning stages of designing a flood mitigation project for the Pākōwhai community with the priority being returning the community to as normal life as possible post-cyclone.
It said discussions with Pākōwhai and Waiohiki property owners - those whose properties could be impacted by the potential solutions being considered - are well advanced, and talks with the wider community, including the hall trust are "on-going".
The HBRC said its preferred option is to design around the Pākōwhai Memorial Hall so it can stay in its current location but all options are being considered and if it needs moving there is funding available.
HBRC Chair Hinewai Ormsby said the council works closely with those directly impacted and also the wider community.
"We must all strive towards a recovery that ensures long term resilience for our most vulnerable areas after the devastating impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle."