Parton and Bell Road residents are accusing the Western Bay of Plenty District Council of ripping them off over roading rates.

Parton Road resident Bill Jackson says the Tauranga Eastern Link project has taken over the maintenance of Parton and Bell Roads for the duration of the highway construction project.

Bell and Parton Roads. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

It means the WBOPDC has had no real expenditure on either Bell or Parton Roads for a number of years now, and Bill wants the district council to give Parton and Bell Road residents a refund or rates credit for the roading rate he's been paying.

He also wants to know why he's still being levied for work the council has not had to undertake.

'Both Parton and Bell Roads were in a pretty poor state of repair when the Transport Agency commenced the TEL construction,” says Bill.

'I'm informed that all the Transport Agency responsibility is to hand back the same roads in the same or better condition than they were in at the commencement date of the TEL but not any new foundation reconstruction.

'It's crucial that reconstruction of Parton Road itself and the stretch of Bell Road between the Parton Road intersection and the railway crossing is reconstructed and completed in the 2014-15 year before July 2015 to coincide with the completion of the new Parton Road TEL flyover.”

Bill made his comments at the district council's recent Te Puke submissions meeting.

Speaking after the meeting group manager engineering services for the Western Bay of Plenty District Council Gary Allis says the roading rate is paid on a district wide basis.

All ratepayers are paying for all the roading in the district, not just the ones outside their properties.

Under the consent issued for the construction of the Tauranga Eastern Link, the contractor is required to maintain some roads during the construction phase.

'There's some defined roads he has to maintain and return in an equivalent condition at the end of that time,” says Gary.

But those are only the parts of the road being used to carry construction traffic.

Issues Bill raises about Bell Road probably relate to a problem that existed before the TEL project started says Gary. It's an area of slumping just along the edge of the seal.

Because of the roadside drain the regional council is involved, and the two parties have been talking, says Gary.

Bill is correct about the ratepayers having to pick up the maintenance of the former SH2 east of Domain Road after the TEL opens.

The NZTA don't have parallel highways, and once the TEL is opened the agency will no longer maintain the former highway.

'There is a cost to the council,” says Gary. 'It's signalled in the Annual Plan but it's a year or two away before there are any impacts.”

The council still has questions about the hand over process, including what conditions the road is in, what condition it should be in when it is handed back, should there be an increased subsidy for a period of time.

'There are a whole lot of questions to be answered,” says Gary.

Bill wants to see the drains cleaned and deepened on both sides of Parton Road to allow water to flow into the Bell Road drain.

He also wants the council to reconstruct the foundations on both sides of the concrete culvert over the Bell Rd drain. Reconstruction of the areas on Parton Road which are uneven or slumping, and reconstruction and widening of part of Bell Road from and including the Parton/Bell Rd intersection to the Railway Crossing.

'This section of road has been in a poor state of repair for many years and just patched up.

'The cause is shoddy foundation work carried out in the early 1990s.”

The section of Bell Road is narrow and a major safety concern as it carries a lot of vehicles per day as well as a lot of cyclists, says Bill.

'This year alone there have been a number of cycle accidents due to the narrow section and uneven road surface.”