In February 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle caused extensive damage and flooding across the Tairāwhiti region. Over 150 homes in the Tairāwhiti region were inundated, many of these homes were ‘yellow stickered’ under the Building Act directly following Cyclone Gabrielle and are still not yet remediated to pre-cyclone standard.

Homes have subsequently been categorised as Category 2P under the government's Future of Severely Affected Land (FOSAL) framework and require property level intervention to prevent risk to life during future severe weather events.

A new funding policy for 2P properties

The new Gisborne District Council Category 2P Mitigation Tairāwhiti Policy means any property categorised as 2P will be eligible for funding, regardless of the mitigation required. This policy replaces any other version.

The policy was created after Council was unable to secure any conforming tenders for service providers. A new policy allows for the mitigation to be completed in a different way than previously planned, but within the timeframe required.

Cyclone Gabrielle saw many whānau displaced from their homes, our hope is that elevating homes by lifting or relocating them to higher ground on site will reduce flood-related risks, risk to life and potential damage to property and infrastructure.

This will enable whānau to quickly return home following a severe weather event and lead to minimised financial losses for homeowners, insurance companies, and the government, resulting in a more resilient community.

$15 million of funding has been approved by the government for Gisborne District Council and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki to assist recovery and improve future resilience to natural hazards for eligible Category 2P properties that were flooded in Tairāwhiti during the North Island severe weather events in 2023.

When the funding was first announced it was to be used for the specific purpose of raising a dwelling or to relocate a dwelling in a new position on the property to a minimum of 500mm above Cyclone Gabrielle floodwaters.

Under the new policy all Category 2P properties are eligible for funding including mitigations such as relocation, land stability mitigations, and elevation.

The policy details that specific mitigations (elevation) can be funded under an agreement with Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki. This funding agreement sees funding distributed directly to Te Aitanga a Māhaki, who will then be responsible for the elevation works of properties through its nominated entity, Toitū Tairāwhiti Builtsmart Limited.

The aim is to directly mitigate flood-related risks, reducing risk to life and potential future damage to property and infrastructure. This leads to minimised financial losses for homeowners, insurance companies, and the government, resulting in a more resilient community.

Owners with a residential dwelling on a property that has been categorised as Category 2P and the dwelling was impacted by flooding or land movement in the North Island Weather Events. There are two funding streams available. Eligibility for funding streams is dependent on the mitigation recommended for your property.

• Grant system: Apply to Council to receive a funding agreement between the property owner and Council. This funding agreement will allow the property owner to receive grant payments, paid directly to the property owner in instalments, to contribute up to $95,000 towards mitigations. These payments can be via invoices during works, or retrospective of works. The property owner manages the mitigation works themselves. All Category 2P property owners are eligible to access grant system funding.
• Managed project: Funding is provided by Te Aitanga a Māhaki, with mitigations completed through its nominated entity Toitū Tairāwhiti Builtsmart Limited. The property owner is not responsible for managing mitigations. Only Category 2P property owners with a recommended mitigation of elevation/lifting are eligible for this pathway.

Please note that this is a voluntary process, and impacted owners will be able to decide whether they wish to apply for funding and complete the identified mitigations.

The deadline for funding applications is 31 December 2024.

For details on how to apply, please contact your case coordinator or email us at recovery@gdc.govt.nz