Ian McLean Green Scene Spokesperson for the Green Party

Congratulations to Tauranga City Council for making the brave decision to buy out flood-prone houses. Comments from those who live there indicate they've had enough and even with better, and expensive, stormwater management in place they'd still not sleep easily.

Earlier planners of this beautiful city decided industrial areas were best placed out of sight in the gullies. The costly consequences of that decision are being inherited now – both by ratepayers and business owners.

For example, in Roxanne Place, ratepayers are buying a $1million pumping station in order to push the tide back during regular flooding events.

In a world affected by rising sea levels and increasing frequency of heavy rainfall events, this is Band-Aid thinking.

None of the reporting has mentioned the ongoing cost of operating such a plant, whether it'll have any purpose outside flooding events, or if other mitigation, such as buy-back, was considered.

Those gullies should have been developed as safe walking and biking trails, wildlife habitats and stormwater management areas designed to protect estuaries from polluted urban run-off.

Tauriko is an enormous development, and many businesses currently under threat from flooding in the gullies are voting with their feet and relocating there.

Ratepayers should bite the bullet and support them – and most importantly, invest in a better environment for our city.