FAQs

Council records show you own a property that has been identified as having a half cost path. The property includes any rental property for which you pay the general rate.

If you consider you have received this letter in error, please email to:   policy.submission@wcc.govt.nz

A half cost path is a footpath providing pedestrian access across Council land, usually road reserve, to three or more private properties. These paths have been given ‘half cost path’ status and the Council makes a 50 percent funding contribution to the maintenance of the surface, steps, handrails, and stormwater channels.

There are other types of pedestrian paths in Wellington City, and the respective funding responsibility varies. They include:

• public footpaths that are located on Council land (normally road reserve) and used by the public for general travel purposes along the road. They are fully managed and maintained by the Council.
• public access footpaths that are on narrow Council access-way land to connect different roads, sometimes called a “through path.” These can be grade-separated paths running parallel to formed roads, at a higher or lower level. They are also fully managed and maintained by the Council.
• private footpaths that are located on private property and used exclusively by the private property owner. They are fully managed and maintained by the private property owner(s).
• private access footpaths that are located on Council land and provide pedestrian access to fewer than three private properties without ‘half cost path’ status. These are fully managed and maintained by the private property owner(s).

Current data shows that there are slightly more than 1000 affected properties served by 288 such paths across the city. The Council is still in the process of keeping the data updated.

We are not able to disclose a list of all impacted properties, but have written to owners who may use a half cost pathway.

A like-for-like improvement means that the path will be returned to its original condition, taking into account safety and access purposes.

There is no budget allocated for the general maintenance of half cost paths as the policy has been very difficult to implement as it requires agreement of all affected property owners. This level of agreement has often been difficult to reach.

The Council would plan to review the paths and will programme this maintenance over the next few years so that this maintenance was undertaken before Council no longer subsidises the maintenance of the pathways.

You do not need to do anything at this stage. In the event Council did decide to stop subsidising the maintenance of half cost pathway, then a programme will be established to check all pathways and schedule any works that are needed.

We would recommend that you:

• Speak to and get agreement from the other affected property owners on the pathway as a first step; then
• Contact the Council who will be able to assess the pathway and options for addressing the maintenance issues. This is much more practical where there is a level of agreement between the affected property owners.

Yes. You can find a map of the Half Cost paths that have been identified across the city here:

https://gis.wcc.govt.nz/LocalMapsGallery/

• Open the Property Information map (top of landing page)
• Select Layers on the top navigation bar
• Clear all default layers except Roads (sidebar)
• Select the Roads drop down menu by clicking the triangle to the left
• Select Footpath 
• Navigate to the location that interests you and zoom in to see the Half Cost Path layer (dashed blue line)

In certain cases, it may be possible to insure a half cost path, however this is a discussion you will need to have with your insurer.