Auckland Council is taking further action to protect homes from flooding with the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee endorsing a major flood resilience project for Clover Drive in Rānui.
At its recent meeting, the Committee approved the business case for the Clover Drive flood resilience works, which now releases funding for the design and consenting processes.
“I’m pleased that we’ll be able to get on with the flood resilience work in Rānui. This community was among the worst affected during the 2023 Anniversary Weekend floods so it’s critical we progress the work to mitigate against future risk and protect residents living in these areas,” said Mayor Wayne Brown.
“Receiving the endorsement to progress with this next project is a much-welcomed step forward,” said Chair of the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Andy Baker.
“Reducing the risks to our flood-prone communities is a clear priority for this council. Improving the capacity to manage stormwater in these areas will significantly reduce flood risk for hundreds of homes as well as create an opportunity to make transformational improvements to the wider community,” he said.
Many streets in the Rānui area experienced severe flooding during the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods. The area was inundated with floodwaters, reaching depths of close to two metres in some houses with emergency services conducting numerous rescues of marooned residents.
Waitākere Ward Councillor, Shane Henderson, acknowledged the impacts of flooding on the community and the importance of the flood resilience work.
“Our communities in Rānui have been feeling the severe impacts of flooding long before the Auckland Anniversary floods and were one of the worst hit areas at the time,” he said.
“It’s important that we, as a council, support our hardest hit communities and it’s great to see the work in Clover Drive prioritised so it can progress swiftly.”
Waitākere Ward Councillor, Ken Turner celebrated this milestone and acknowledged there’s more work to be done.
“It’s good to see this work reach a key milestone for our West Auckland communities. It’s important for us to ensure our focus remains on maintaining these improvements into the future so we can safeguard against increased capacity,” he said.
The planned improvements in Rānui will be done in collaboration with local iwi and the community to maximise benefits for the wider area. Works may involve widening of streams and installing debris racks to enhance water flow and reduce the risk of blockages.
Upgrades to bridges to increase stormwater flow will also be planned with community input. These physical changes will be complemented by efforts to enhance the local environment, creating open spaces, connecting parkland and pathways, and widening streams to redirect water away from homes during heavy rain events.
The initiative is part of the Making Space for Water programme co-funded by local and central government to share the cost of storm recovery and resilience work in the Auckland region.
Early concept designs are currently being scoped and once completed will be presented to cabinet for final funding approval by March 2025.
Once funding is approved, community engagement will continue, before moving into detailed design stages, with construction expected to commence in late 2026/early 2027.
