Bottomed out: Can Buller on the West Coast claw itself back? – Stuff.co.nz

The West Coast's Bullerdistrict has been reeling from a major economic downturn with the loss of a quarter of its jobssince 2012. Can itbounce back? JOANNE CARROLL reports.

The West Coast'sBuller districtstretches8574 square kilometres from Punakaiki to Karamea,and inland as far as Springs Junction. It is only slightly smaller than the country of Cyprus, has 150km of wild coastline andtwo national parks, but only 10,000 people.

It wasone of only two districts in New Zealand where the population declined in the year to June. Buller's populationfell by 0.3 per cent, behind only Waitomo, which had a0.9 per cent decline.

According toa Development West Coast report, Buller's GDP fell 44 per cent with the loss of nearly 1500 jobsand500 people since 2012.

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Westport's main street - Palmerston St. Jobs have gone, businesses closed.

The downturn has been greatly influenced by the closure of Holcim'scement plant near Westport andchanges in the coal mining industry, including the collapse of Solid Energy and fluctuating international coal prices.

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The latest economic update from Development West Coast showed the district's GDPfell5.7 per cent (to$28m) in 2018, when 209 jobs were lost, 30 businesses closed and house prices dropped 3.1 per cent.

Westport, located on the banks of themighty Buller River, is home to about 5000 people half of the district's population.

'STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET'

At 80, former mayor Pat O'Deaisstill runninga fruit and vegetable shop on the main street. He has lived in Westport all his life, served as mayor for 21 years, andhas seenmany changes.

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There are lots of houses and sections for sale in Buller, which has some of the lowest house prices in New Zealand.

"We lost the Denniston mines [in 1967],since then we've lost police stations, post offices, we've lost the Karamea dairy company.

"We lostPDL[a Christchurch-based electrical goods manufacturer that shut its Westport factory in 1988], which wasone of the major employers of women, we lostrailway workshops, Ministryof Works, the harbourworkshops, andit just goes on and on.

"The outlook is not good because of the Governmentattitudeto the West Coast."

O'Dea blames successive Governments for the district's decline. Starting with the loss of native logging in 2000 and continuing throughto the Government's decision to stop a new mine opening in Bullerlastyear, which would have created 60 jobs, O'Dea believes West Coasters have had it tough.

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Former Buller mayor Pat O'Dea, a lifelong West Coaster, has seen many changes in the district.

The loss of Holcim cement in 2016 was a big blow to the town, cutting 120 jobs.

"If you go down the street nowyou will see a lot of shops closed and a lot of people had to move away. Most of the business in town ... would be putting on abrave face but most would be struggling to makeends meet.

"I'm here just because I enjoy doing it it gets me out of bed in the morning. As for making any money, I can tell you if I am breaking even I'd be lucky."

He saidbusinesses are struggling since the downturn because people have less money in their pockets. Some homes across the districtlookshabby or are falling down because people simply don't have enough money to maintain them, or because they'veleft the district to find work elsewhere and have struggled to sell.

"People seem to have lost the will to fightthey just go from day to day.

"People want to move but they can't because they can't sell their properties. Things like that are just a continuation of the downward thrust.

"If we had confidence that the mines that are proposed could go ahead, then the boost would be enormous."

O'Dea saidthe former National Government paid $5000 to people on the doleto move to the regions from Aucklandto solve the city's housing crisis, but that brought social issues like crime and drugs to Buller, as well as putting a squeeze onthe rental market.

The average house price in Buller is$182,150, much lower than the national average of $630,000, as of November 2019. On Trade Me, there were 339 homes listed for sale in Buller, compared to 198 in Grey and 136 in Westland. Buller had no rentals listed in August, and only 13 by December.

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Buller is one of only two districts in New Zealand to have a population decline.

LACK OF ACCOMMODATION HURTS

Stuffspoke to several people who declined to be named or photographed but said life was tough in Westport.

A solo father saidhe had been unable to find work since moving to Buller in 2014 and had struggled to find a rental for himself and his son.

Many houses werefor sale and were lying empty because people who had moved out of the district for work did not want to pay to upgrade the properties under the new insulation rules.

The man said some families had to livein a holiday park. He believed the cost of groceries and petrol (which was more than $2.50 for a litre of 91 just before Christmas) made itimpossible to surviveon only abenefit.

"There's no money here. Unless you want to retire, you own your own business, or you have a job up the hill, there's no point in coming here. There's nothing here."

Another man, who lived in a caravan, said he could only findseasonal fishing work butdid not want to move away because his children lived in Westport with their mother.

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People just "go from day to day" in the Buller district.

Newly-elected mayor Jamie Cleine said the rise of Airbnb could have contributed to the lack of rentals in Buller.

He hadbeen told by the Ministry of Social Development that 18 people were living in motels or holiday parks, most single men.

The Westport fish processing factory owned by Talley's needs about 30 more employees but has struggled to find people because there is no accommodation for them.

"We have identified the issue and as a council weare working to find solutions. We're talking about maybe freeing up some land and talking to developers who might be able to build some workers accommodation or social housing."

Cleine said the economy had "bottomed out" but he believed it wason the way back up. Several big projects under way wouldbring employment and tourists to the district, such asthe new $10 million Kawatiri Heritage Trail, the new $20m health centre, the newly-opened Paparoa Track and the already popular Old Ghost Road track.

Mining GDPhad fallen 21 per cent, but tourism had grown 22 per cent, albeit with lower paid jobs.

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Westport residents Lynn and Glenn Irving with their daughter Roz. They've lived there through the bad times. "We've had to say goodbye to a lot of friends that's been quite hard."

While a lower socio-economic group did exist in Buller along withsome "old stock" housing that needed to be demolished, Cleine said there were plenty of people doing well, building new homes and enjoying life in the district.

A PARADISE FOR RAISING CHILDREN

Lynn and Glenn Irving moved to Westport in 2000 when veterinarian Lynn got a job at Buller Vets. They left to see the world between 2004 and 2007, but returned andbought land in 2010 where they built a home overlooking the Buller River to raise their two children in.

Originally from South Africa, Lynn Irving studied in Wellington before moving to Westport.

"A lot of my classmates said 'why Westport?' It's the landscape that draws me to this place. It's so dramatic.

"I love the weather, the mountain backdrop, the sea, the river, the smells and the sounds of the birds and the cicadas. I've grown to love the community," she said.

Glenn Irving, an engineer originally from Christchurch, began working for Solid Energy "up the hill" in Stockton when it employed 1500 and was expanding its footprint into Happy Valley in 2007.

People who had never had a job before, or were on the dole, were paid $25 an hourto pick up endangered snails to move them from the valley before mining began. Everyone had money and the town was booming, he said.

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More than 300 homes are for sale in the Buller district.

Like other people who have left the mining industry, Glenn has reinvented himself several times in order to remain employed in Westport. He managed the recreation centre for seven years and now works as a contractor for the Buller District Council.

"As someone who has lived here through the bad times, we've had to say goodbye to a lot of friends that's been quite hard.

"We're now left with a good core of people who have decided to stay because they like living here and want to make it a better place to be," he said.

He has given back to the community through his work with the Buller Cycling Club and the Love Kawatiri promotions group and saysit isthe people and landscape that make Westport a great place to live andraise children.

"I couldn't think of a better place for children to grow up in. They love being in the river, they love riding their bikes on the tracks, they love exploring the bush.

"It's only a two-minute drive to get anywhere we don't spend time in traffic jams. I think that's one of the things I appreciate most," he said.

'THINGS ARE CHANGING'

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Waimangaroa fire chief Lynn Brooks says a major recruitment drive now means the town has one firefighter for every 10 homes in the village.

About 16 kilometresnorth of Westport lies Waimangaroa (or Waimang as the locals call it) a once bustling settlement at the foot of the famous Denniston Incline. Since 2012, it has lost its pub, school, shop, post office, petrol station, playgroup andsports teams.

The last community stronghold was its fire station. Fire chief Lynn Brooks said the once overflowing fire brigade was struggling for volunteers.

"It's been like a creeping death really. Everything quietly closing and before you know it things are changing and families aren't the same. We couldn't get a crew when we needed one. It was really hard."

She said it was only through a major recruitment push, and continuing to nurture the cadets programme, that they had been able to grow volunteer numbers to 15 one firefighterfor every 10 houses in Waimangaroa.

Brooks, and a small group of locals, have come up with a plan for a "little town heart" or a community garden andwalkway to keep visitors there longer on their way to Denniston or Karamea.

"I've looked around a lot and I just really like the village. We have the beautiful beach and river right here and the bush behind. That's my backyard. It's so amazing.

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Waimangaroa coffee cart owner Bev Morrow says there's a "buzz" in the village now.

"The lifestyle on the Coast is really special. We've been through quite a lull but I feel like we're coming out the other side of it now. Things are looking brighter."

Bev Morrow has lived in the village for 35 years and her children were educated atWaimangaroa School, which closed its doors after 133 years with only 13 pupils remaining in 2012.

"The falling dairy payout was a big one. Lots of farmers laid off their workers and did the work themselves that was quite sad actually.

"When it all started to fall over, peoplewere left with high mortgages and not being able to rent them out or sell them. People were walking away from houses and going off to find work to pay the mortgage here and the rent where they were."

She said losing the shop and post office in 2017 was the last straw for the community. Without a meeting place, the community was losing its soul.

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Some houses in the Buller district are in dire need of renovation - or demolition.

"I just didn't want to see our town die. It was dying. There was nowhere for people to meet and greet."

She decided to open up a coffee cart justoff State Highway 67 and has been doing a roaring trade with tourists, locals and miners on their way to Stockton mine, which still employs more than 200 people.

"My local support has been magnificent... People come here and have a cup of tea and talk about what's happening.I feel such a buzz in ourtown and it is exciting."

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Waimangaroa, just north of Westport, has lost its garage, school, pub, shop, sports teams and post office over the last decade.

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Bottomed out: Can Buller on the West Coast claw itself back? - Stuff.co.nz