Source: Radio New Zealand
The new water addressing system uses a distance-based method to assign a number, measured along the shoreline. Marlborough District Council / supplied
About 1700 Marlborough Sounds properties are getting new addresses so they remain easily accessible to postal and emergency services.
Marlborough District Council had previously relied on jetty numbers, but that no longer met the standard required for property identification.
The council’s road name and addressing coordinator Belinda Darrell said the new water addresses would use a distance-based method similar to rural RAPID numbering, measured along the shoreline instead of a road.
A Geographic Information System (GIS) assessment earlier this year showed about 1700 properties in the Sounds were not numbered and many were only accessible by water.
“What’s unique about Marlborough Sounds is we’ve got dwellings that are behind other dwellings so it’s like an urban setting, which therefore makes the measuring quite unique and we’ve got to factor that in as well,” Darrell said.
The project is one of the largest to date in New Zealand, covering more than 1500 kilometres of coastline.
Darrell said a community in Pelorus Sound contacted the council about their addresses about 18 months ago and that led to the project with Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to create a new system aligned with New Zealand’s addressing standards.
“That’s when they realised that we had that urban, different, unique, complex type of scenario going on,” she said.
Water addresses will be allocated clockwise within bays and, once the first property is given an odd or even number, the entire bay will follow the same numbering pattern for consistency.
Each address will also include the locality name to help distinguish properties within the Sounds as many bays in Marlborough shared the same name.
Several councils across the country already use water addresses, including Tasman, Auckland, Christchurch and Porirua, but the Marlborough Sounds is the largest single catchment.
Darrell said the new system was a major step toward providing consistent, modern addressing across the region.
LINZ addressing lead James Virgo said it collaborated with the council team to develop and agree on a consistent approach to support the implementation of water addressing for boat access properties.
“This ensures properties have clear, consistent addresses and it’s positive to see this work now being made publicly available.”
The council will use the official bay names provided by LINZ when assigning new water addresses.
Property files will be updated in the council’s system to reflect the change with formal confirmation letters sent to homeowners.
For more information on water addressing, to check if your property is eligible and to apply including step-by-step support go to: www.marlborough.govt.nz/services/property-addressing or email DCAddressing@marlborough.govt.nz.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
