Nelson-Tasman mayors to push for continued Hope Bypass backing

Saturday, 21 February 2026

Questions have been raised about the future of the Hope Bypass after the Government released its National Infrastructure Plan.

The Government has released a 30-year National Infrastructure Plan. Katie Townshend asked the Nelson and Tasman mayors what it means for this region.

The mayors of Nelson and Tasman say the Hope Bypass must go ahead, even as a National Infrastructure Plan casts doubt on major roading projects.

On Tuesday, the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission released the 30-year plan looking at priorities for infrastructure investment across the motu.

The report puts the focus squarely on upgrading hospitals, strengthening the grid and replacing three-waters infrastructure, while warning that many costly roading projects may be unaffordable.

Big roading projects may have to be parked in favour of “lower-cost, more targeted investments” addressing safety, resilience of performance issues, the plan said.

Tasman mayor Tim King and Nelson mayor Nick Smith welcomed the plan, and backed its focus on health and resilience.

But, both said the local road of national significance project - the Hope Bypass - needed to remain a priority.

“It’s certainly not a nice to have, it really is an essential upgrade to a bit of infrastructure that has [not been] improved or changed significantly now for decades, and we are a rapidly growing area,” King said.

In October, the investment case summary for the Hope Bypass was released, proposing the project be built in two stages. The Government has $72.6 million earmarked to progress design, consenting and procurement activities for the Hope Bypass.

The first would focus on the stretch of State Highway 6 from Whakatu Drive in Nelson to the Queen St intersection in Richmond, while stage two would go from the deviation to State Highway 60.

According to the investment case summary, the project would reduce peak travel times through Richmond by at least 10 minutes by 2034, and 16 minutes by 2054.

King argued that stage one should still qualify as essential infrastructure, describing it as an incremental upgrade to a decades-old bottleneck.

“Addressing the immediate needs is a high priority and then what might happen subsequently, clearly there's going to be pressure on budgets in the transport space, but I certainly see it more as an incremental improvement to an existing situation than a brand new nice to have.”

Smith said the project was “absolutely critical” and warned any political reversal of its status as a Road of National Significance would be “a disaster for Nelson”.

It had been a “big advocacy job” to get the project recognised as a Road of National Significance, he said.

“We just need to hold the Government's feet to the fire to make sure they now deliver on that project.”

Mayor Nick Smith said the Hope Bypass was “absolutely critical” to the region.

The infrastructure plan emphasises the importance of health investment, singling out Nelson-Tasman as a region where the ageing population is driving demand.

It comes as work on a 28-bed temporary ward started on Wednesday, as part of a wider redevelopment of Nelson Hospital, including a new 128-bed inpatient building.

Smith said the hospital redevelopment was the “absolute top priority” for both mayors.

“I welcome the priority that the Government’s new infrastructure plan gives to hospitals, transport, water and electrification.”

But, he cautioned that “the devil’s always in the detail”, with the plan also highlighting challenges in the area of climate change.

The plan identifies Nelson-Tasman as the region where the annual expected damage to private property is expected to rise most sharply, with exposure to flood risk predicted to increase by about 125% over the next 50 years, ahead of the next highest region Bay of Plenty, at about 85%.

“Local government is on the front line,” the report warned.

Smith said Nelson would have to spend “billions” on infrastructure over the next 30 years, and that challenge would be at the forefront as the council developed its own infrastructure plan and the next long-term plan.

Climate change and flood management were the areas where Nelson was the most vulnerable, he said.

In recent years the council had succeeded in securing a 60% level of government investment for several key resilience projects, such as Jenkins Creek, but the challenge was to keep up that level of support for future projects, he said.

Tasman mayor Tim King said the region would face big bills to meet infrastructure needs for flood resilience.

“We’re going to have to keep up that level of investment, year-on-year, if we are going to be able to be well prepared for the changing weather patterns and increased frequency of these damaging storms.”

The next “ambition” was to secure 60% funding for the $4.8m Saltwater Creek pump station project, he said.

King said the challenge would be getting government investment for flood prevention works.

Stopbank works in Motueka and Riwaka, which had received government funding, proved the value of spending money on prevention rather than recovery, he said.

But, he also cautioned that ratepayers would have to bear the brunt of the rising risk, as most of the work was focused on three-waters infrastructure.

Early indications for the 2026-27 annual plan put the rates increase at 2.3% for council activities outside of flood recovery and three waters. But, when those services were added the projected increase rose to about 9.9%, he said.

Even if the Government’s proposed 4% rates cap was in place, Tasman would still meet that requirement, because water services are exempted from the cap, he said.

“We will continue to invest in all of the assets that the ratepayers effectively own that we manage on their behalf, and that that cost is going to increase over time.”