22 October 2026
Gisborne District Council has adopted its 2025/26 Annual Report, reflecting a year of significant delivery as Te Tairāwhiti continued the long road of recovery from the severe weather events of 2023.
The year marked the second of Council’s three-year recovery-focused plan, with major progress made restoring damaged roads and bridges, strengthening flood protection and supporting property owners affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Mayor Rehette Stoltz says the report tells the story of a region that is making real progress, while recognising recovery is far from finished.
“Two years into our Three Year Plan, we can see just how much has been achieved across Te Tairāwhiti.
“There is still a huge amount ahead of us, particularly across our roading network and flood resilience programme, but this report shows tangible progress our communities can see.”
During 2025/26, Council invested $117.3 million in capital works, the highest level of capital work in any year. Around $99.5 million was spent delivering critical infrastructure, roads, flood protection and water infrastructure.
“A significant part of delivery was made possible through external support, helping fund recovery, reinstatement and resilience work that would otherwise have fallen more heavily on rates or debt,” says Mayor Stoltz.
Major recovery milestones included:
- 60 of 65 bridges requiring major repairs completed, with the remaining five under construction, alongside 31 of 35 minor bridge repairs completed. Construction also progressed on replacement bridges at St Leger, Gray’s and Mata.
- Roading recovery completed repairs to 251 non-complex slips and dropouts, while work continued across the 93 most complex sites.
- The $45 million Tiniroto Bypass continued to progress, with enabling works complete and construction underway on the northern bridge approach.
- 62.4km of the Waipaoa River stopbanks have been upgraded, construction of 7km was completed during the year, with approximately 300 metres remaining to complete the project.
- All 58 participating Category 3 property owners settled, with 49 sites made safe by year end, including 40 demolitions and nine homes relocated.
- More than 618,000 cubic metres of large woody debris was removed since 2023, including more than 66,000 cubic metres during 2025/26.
Chief Executive Nedine Thatcher Swann says the scale of recovery work would not have been possible without significant support from central government and other funding partners.
Council recorded $254.2 million in total revenue during the year, including $128.7 million in operating and capital grants. Grants and subsidies represented 51% of Council’s total revenue and supported recovery, reinstatement and resilience work that would otherwise have required additional rates or debt funding.
“That external investment has been critical for Te Tairāwhiti. Our local rating base simply could not fund recovery on this scale alone,” Mrs Thatcher Swann says.
“It has enabled us to restore essential infrastructure, reduce risk and make investments that will serve our communities for decades.
“At the same time, we have continued delivering the everyday Council services people rely on. That has required an enormous effort from our staff, contractors, iwi and hapū, communities and our many funding and delivery partners.”
Council met 78% of its 93 performance measures during 2025/26, maintaining the previous year’s overall result despite the demanding recovery environment.
Some of the year’s other highlights include:
- 99% of building consents and 97% of resource consents completed within statutory timeframes.
- Targeted forestry monitoring and oversight of remediation at priority sites.
- 5.5km of wastewater pipes renewed and 3,835 property inspections for DrainWise, checking stormwater connections are separated from wastewater.
- The new 4,274ha Waimatā possum control area, 32,462ha of land use capability mapping and erosion control plans for 29,968ha. 158 new street trees planted and 7,000 dune plants established.
- Completion of the final Navigate Tairāwhiti projects, Te Ikaroa a Rauru walkway bridge and storyboard, Te Maro viewing platform and Hawaiki Tūranga works.
- Work continued on the city centre, including public art across eight vacant shopfronts, heritage façade grants, lighting and street activations, alongside more than 20 engagement opportunities to help shape the longer-term Action and Investment Plan.
- Smaller projects making a difference too – from the new Mātāwai playground and waharoa, restoration of the Tūranga Whakamana Tauihu carving and community-led recovery planning, through to investment in new flood forecasting technology.
- Council work also picked up national recognition, receiving awards for innovations developed following Cyclone Gabrielle, including AI-assisted woody debris mapping and emergency water-treatment technology, local elections engagement and large-scale environmental restoration.
The year was also a reminder that recovery is happening in an environment of continuing risk. A further severe weather event in January 2026 caused around $14 million of additional damage, impacting Te Araroa, Onepoto and Wharekahika.
Mayor Stoltz says Council now enters the third and final year of the Three Year Plan with a clear focus.
“The Annual Report shows how far recovery has come, and also the scale of the work still ahead as we move into the third and final year of our Three Year Plan.
“We are proud of what has been achieved, but we have more work to do.
“Our focus remains on completing the work in front of us, restoring our infrastructure, strengthening resilience and making careful, affordable choices about what comes next for Te Tairāwhiti.”
Read more on the 2025/2026 Annual report.