Brian Anderson The Western Front www.sunlive.co.nz

Angry Waihi Beach residents have met with the Western Bay council over its response to flooding at the beach.

One resident rang the council three times for help. At first he was told to ring the fire brigade. After repeated requests they sent a truck to help clear the road and help traffic problems but there was no help for him or his property. When the poor maintenance was identified as a major cause of flooding, Mr Snelgrove blamed the problem on a previous council. He admitted that perhaps maintenance was a problem. He suggested that all of the houses could be lifted but asked where the money would come from. Angry residents reminded council that flooding has been an issue for years.

The local community board has represented the people at many submissions but the council does not listen. Readers North of Omokoroa will recognise that the above report is from a meeting with council last week and the recent flooding referred to at the meeting occurred a couple of months ago. After the meeting, the chairman of the community board made a special request for the council to come and clear the drains and waterways urgently as the storm event of this weekend was coming and would cause more damage. The council did acknowledge the request but did not action it. Metal from recent road surfacing had collected in the storm water drains, the blocked creek remained blocked and this weekend's flood damage is again the consequence of council negligence in planning , maintenance – and is more evidence of the council's unwillingness to listen to the residents.

This arrogance was very evident when a spokesman on behalf of the council, at the recent representation hearing, and was supposed to speak on the council's wonderful achievements in Katikati but spent the whole 15 minutes chastising the residents of Waihi Beach for daring to criticise council. He never mentioned Katikati once which was understandable because it is not just Waihi Beach being ignored by council. The entire district North of Omokoroa has been making submissions for years. Katikati has had a few more promises but council presence in Katikati is all talk and no do. The whole Northern Harbour sub-region is referred to in council documents as the hinterland which is defined as the forgotten area behind a port or town. The Katikati bypass is a humorous fairy tale. The new Town Centre Plan is an expensive nightmare. The value for money from the ever growing rates and charges in the area is a living hell for many.

The first SmartGrowth plan for the Northern Harbour never mentioned Waihi Beach though it did list Katikati in the introduction. The new SmartGrowth plan, about to be released, is the result of extensive consultation across the Bay of Plenty. But only two of the forty meetings were held in the Northern Harbour. The Katikati meeting was a closed meeting which was abandoned when the few who attended felt that they had no right to speak for Katikati. The report back from the Waihi Beach meeting was of a group of angry residents who did not seem to have the right attitude.

The chapter on Urban Growth in the council's District Plan confirms a council who doesn't care at all. It states clearly that all urban growth will concentrate on Omokoroa and no other areas will be considered until suitable plans are formulated. The Omokoroa project, that should have attracted 12,000 residents, has folded at great expense and Waihi Beach is watching their rates with storm water, roading and sewerage being used to prop up council debt. Mr Snelgrove's challenge to Waihi Beach was that council could be more proactive but who would be willing to pay for that. Waihi Beach and Katikati already know who is paying for council mismanagement.