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By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
A Warkworth couple is hoping there is strength in numbers, after joining forces with a group of West Auckland residents fighting to get council help with slips on public land impacting their properties.
Matt and Jo Wildermoth lost a significant chunk of their garden, which backs onto a steep bank adjoining Whitaker Road, when heavy rain caused a major slip in May last year.
Since then, they say they’ve been ignored by Auckland Transport, despite repeated attempts to engage with staff and even its chief executive.
“I sent a personal email to Dean Kimpton in June and haven’t heard a thing back,” Matt said.
“We’ve had a pretty hard year this year generally but have been 100 per cent ignored. All we wanted was to have a chat with someone. We’re just sitting here waiting.”
Recently, Stickered Titirangi Area Residents’ (STAR) group member Tony Proffit, who has been campaigning for householders affected by slips on council land, happened to drive past the Wildermoths’ slip and suggested they join their group effort.
“STAR represents property owners impacted by 2023 storm damage to Auckland Council-owned road reserve land,” Proffitt said.
“I door-knocked Matt, as I could see they were dealing with the road reserve issue too, and I suspect there are many others all over Auckland in the same situation.”
STAR took its grievances to council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee on October 3, where they appealed to councillors for an urgent solution to the problem.
STAR member Thibault Beaujot said neither insurance companies nor the council’s storm recovery categorisation work would cover repair costs for public land.
“It is important to recognise the property owners are not at fault and to recognise that the damage is to council-owned land and not private property. We argue the council has a moral obligation and the discretionary powers to find a funding solution to address the damage,” Beaujot said.
Proffit said it was unfair for private property owners to need to undertake work on public land to protect their properties.
“I think it is important to keep coming back to the fact that this is council-owned land. It’s not private property, it is not our job to ask that of the government. It is the council’s job to ask for funding from the government to repair your land,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson was sympathetic and said council needed to find a solution quickly.
Waitakere Councillor Ken Turner submitted a notice of motion requesting the council’s chief executive and Auckland Transport’s chief executive report back with funding options and potential impacts in a month.
Proffit said afterwards he was feeling more positive that something might finally get done, and urged any other affected homeowners to get in touch with STAR to ensure they were included in any future funding resolution.
Meanwhile, the Wildermoths were also feeling more hopeful after connecting with Proffit, having already received a phone call and apology from the Auckland flood response team.
Info: Email stickeredtitirangiresidentsgrp@gmail.com
