Wairarapa projects worth millions of dollars have been turned down for central government funding, with a major Carterton scheme the latest to lose out.
Jane Davis, Carterton District Council chief executive, with plans for the redevelopment of the town's Broadway. Photo: WAIRARAPA TIMES-AGE / MARCUS ANSELM
An $8 million bid for a "shovel ready" project by Carterton District Council (CDC) to redevelop the town's Broadway street was turned down last week.
It is one a number of multi-million dollar projects thought to have missed out on access to funding.
Through the various funding channels, Wairarapa's three councils have missed out on more than $40m in potential backing.
That includes a South Wairarapa District Council (SWDC) bid of $20m for Featherston's wastewater treatment plant.
It is now likely these schemes will be considered as part of long-term planning for the authorities.
Each district is warming up its work on 10-year plans, due next year, with these projects to go into the mix for debates on funding.
Carterton's Broadway initiative sought to upgrade the thoroughfare, which runs from the CBD to the railway station.
It would provide more parking away from the state highway and give more pedestrian and cycleway access.
The project has been on the council's radar for more than five years but has had to play second fiddle to infrastructure renewals.
CDC devoted about $500,000 to a rejuvenation scheme for the street in 2015, but the money was never used. Initial designs were later written up but have not yet been released.
Council chief executive Jane Davis said it had always been on the list but never a priority.
"Small councils like ours will always struggle to fund projects like these when they are competing against core infrastructure projects," she said.
The council has focused the bulk of its spending on a wastewater treatment plant, close to the district's southern border.
Broadway links Carterton's train station with the CBD. Photo: LDR / Wairarapa Times-Age / Emily Ireland
Each council did benefit from the Three Waters stimulus package, with Masterton claiming $4.4m, SWDC more than $2.8m, and Carterton $1.84m.
About $1m was also given to Tauherenikau bridge section of the Five Towns Trail cycle route, a shared project between the councils.
The two southern districts have also received backing through the Mayoral Taskforce for Jobs programme.
In his column in today's Wairarapa Times-Age, Carterton Mayor Greg Lang said the $250,000 of funding was "an absolute game-changer".
North of the Waingawa, Masterton District Council has been more successful.
The Hood Aerodrome project, shared between Wairarapa's districts but with Masterton leading the way, scored more than $10m.
It also received more than $1m for upgrades to the town centre skate park. It also shared in the Five Trails bridge projects.
During her visit to Wairarapa on Friday, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said the party would pledge a further $200m to support regional development projects, if re-elected.
The local government lobby group, LGNZ, has criticised the competitive nature of funding, and the centralisation of public spending in New Zealand.
Its president, Stuart Crosby, said that New Zealand was one of the most centralised countries in the OECD.
Central government accounts for 88 percent of public expenditure, against an average of just 46 percent across the 37 OECD nations.
"It's really important that New Zealand gets the democratic wellbeing balance right," Crosby said.
"We want a culture and society where all New Zealanders are part of our policy solutions, not just a select group in the Beehive that make promises that they can't keep."
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.