Sealed roads on the West Coast could be turned back to gravel as cuts hit small councils’ budgets. Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson says the district faces a funding assistance rate from NZTA dropping 1% a year for the next two years.

“The costs have gone up, and our funding is going down,” she says.

Bitumen, labour and fuel have all lifted while the rating base stays small.

Last year a footpath cut added another $250,000 to the plan, about 1% of rates. She says bridges and gravel-road maintenance face the same pressure.

“We’ve got 232 kilometres of unsealed roads, and some of those roads may just service one property.”

Gibson says amalgamation offers no guaranteed saving.

“It hasn’t been proven around the country that it costs less.”

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.

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