Tauranga City Council will continue with its chipseal resurfacing programme this summer after confirmation that it offers ratepayers the best value for money.

However, the council will consider resurfacing some streets with asphalt if ratepayers on those streets are willing to pay the extra cost over chipseal.

Every year, the council resurfaces about 25km to 35km of the city’s roads with chipseal or asphalt.

This year, central government funding will cover about half of the council’s $9 million resurfacing programme.

Asphalt is around five times more expensive than chipseal and the extra cost does not qualify for additional central government funding for most Tauranga residential streets.

The Pāpāmoa Residents and Ratepayers Association is concerned about plans to resurface some deteriorating asphalt streets with chipseal and has asked the Council to consider alternatives.

At a meeting of the Council’s City Future Committee today, the mayor and councillors voted to continue with the chipseal programme after hearing that asphalt would impose large costs on ratepayers and delays would also be costly.

They also voted to propose a policy in the Long-term Plan 2027-37 allowing residents to choose asphalt over chipseal if they’re willing to pay the cost difference.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the chipseal programme was delivering value for money and needed to continue as it would be costly to halt it.

“However, this is also an opportunity to allow our community to take some control,” he said.

“If communities are willing to pay extra for asphalt on their streets then I think we should give them the opportunity to do so – as long as we’re not committing other Tauranga ratepayers to additional cost and debt.”

The committee heard that resealing six Pāpāmoa streets with asphalt instead of chipseal might require a lump sum payment of up to $6000 per household – assuming all households contributed. The sum could vary depending on the length of the road and the number of homes on it.

Subdivision developers often surface their roads with asphalt to carry heavy construction vehicles and make new properties look more appealing for sale.

People buying those properties don’t always realise their streets will be resealed with chipseal when the asphalt deteriorates.

Some residents also question why their road needs to be resurfaced when it still looks to be in good condition. This is because the council aims to resurface streets just before any damage occurs – and the damage is not always visible.

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