About 46km of the proposed road would cut through the Kahurangi National Park, pictured in the background.

West Coast business owners have thrown their support behind a proposal to build a road linking northern Buller and Nelson.

Some see it as a way to bring people and money into the ailing region, but environmentalists say it will put native species at risk.

Buller mayor Garry Howard is pushing for the Government to fund an investigation into the new Wangapeka Road link, which would connect the West Coast to Tasman.



Transport Minister Simon Bridges is "open to having a look at it".

The 56km road would cut through Kahurangi National Park, reducing the journey from Karamea to Nelson from 328km to 169km, halving existing travel times. The existing road from Westport to Karamea is a dead end.

Howard championed the road as a way for the West Coast to improve its economy following a slump in the local coal industry, and asked Buller District Councillors to back his plan.

It would "invigorate the whole region by increasing the numbers of tourists". The financial impact would be "significant", he wrote.

The proposed new road will go through the Kahurangi National Park.

Buller's population has dropped 2.1 per cent this year, by far the biggest decline of the country's 67 districts, largely due to the mining slump.

Howard said the district would have lost 600 jobs and $50 million in annual wages from its mining industry in the two years to June 2016.

The West Coast economy as a whole needed to diversify as part of the "inevitable transition to a life after coal", he said.

Bridges said he was interested in any transport project which saved people time and money.

"While this proposal is at a very early stage and the Government would need to investigate it more thoroughly, I am open to having a look at it," he said.

Tasman mayor Richard Kempthorne supported investigating the proposal.

SUPPORT FOR NEW ROAD

A Stuff poll on the road idea, in which more than 7500 people have voted so far, found 54 per cent thought it was a great idea for locals and tourists, 26 per cent thought it was outrageous to build a road through a national park, and 20 per cent wanted more more information before they decided.

The road would run from Little Wanganui near Karamea on the West Coast, through to the Motueka Valley, south of Nelson.

Buller residents welcomed the concept.

"I think it would be a great idea," said Baz's Hostel owner Steve Lee, who operates in Westport.

"It would just make it more of a loop of the whole West Coast."

Building tourism became a focus after the mine closures, and his business drew a strong trade from domestic visitors.

Diana Storer has owned the Karamea Village Hotel for 34 years. She said the road would have a big impact on the community, which totals about 600 residents.

"It's definitely a great idea. It would open up the coast more."

She said the town's horticulture, fuelled by "good land and a micro-climate", would benefit from greater access to inland South Island towns.

"To be able to get those products to market would be a big thing for Karamea... That would open up a lot for us."

Karamea Holiday Park owner Margaret Mansell said the road would be "wonderful".

"It would be very advantageous to us. There are a lot of people who come to the coast, but don't come up here because tourists with limited time don't want to drive 100km up a road and have to go back down the same road," she said.

An informal poll at the Little Wanganui Tavern, 20km south of Karamea, found support, said owner Andrea Eggers.

"As long as we don't get McDonald's wrappers and disposable nappies on the side of the road, I'd be quite happy."

The mayor proposed the council advocate for Government help to investigate the road link, as the council lacked the resources.

The investigation should include an environmental evaluation and a cost-benefit analysis.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

Westport-based conservationist Peter Lusk said the concept was a "rather silly pipe-dream," and if it did go ahead, it would put wildlife at risk.

"It would run right through the national park, and right through one of our last little colonies of rock wrens. That's my main objection."

He said in the wake of the dying coal industry, the region should embrace its natural values.

"Our big assets here in Buller are actually biodiversity and natural landscape, and the sports and recreation that go with it. That's where we've got a competitive advantage globally.

"We don't want to give that away for a senseless road."

The Wangapeka Track runs through part of a whio (blue duck) security site, one of eight Department of Conservation sites run nationally to secure the survival of the endangered species.

In 2001, then-Prime Minister Helen Clark quashed a proposal from West Coast mayors to build a road through the national park from Karamea to Golden Bay because it ran too near the Heaphy Track.

Howard's proposed route is different.

MPs MIXED ON IDEA

West Coast MP Damien O'Connor, of the Labour Party, said the project was ambitious.

He questioned the benefits when a new road would mean tourists travelling from Nelson to the West Coast would bypass towns like Murchison and Reefton.

The money would be better spent on new healthcare facilities for the coast, he said.

West Coast-based Green MP Kevin Hague said he was unlikely to support a new road running through a national park, but was not opposed to the study.

Better access to the coast would not mean tourists would stay longer and spend more money.

People went to the West Coast for the natural environment and isolation, he said.

National's West Coast MP Maureen Pugh was "right behind" exploring the benefits of a new road link.

"Roads are enablers of development and the Buller/Tasman areas need diversification to build their economic resilience.

"Tourism has so much potential here, especially given our huge conservation estate, and having access endears visitors to the wonders and fragility of our forests."

Buller district councillors will discuss the proposal at their Wednesday meeting.

READERS REPOND:

What readers are saying on Facebook:

Julie Gorman: "People who would never be able to hike the track will be able to enjoy a wonderful piece of NZ. Tourism and jobs would help the region."

Dave Nicholas: "[It] would be a hell of a drive (scenery-wise) and a good positive start to helping the Coast back on its feet."

Kristyn Musson: "No way. Beautiful forest and birds to consider, just use that money to upgrade the already existing road that works fine."

Paul Avery: "It's part of the attraction – less people, somewhat untouched. I'd like it to be left alone."

Megan Seil: "Leave the national park how it is. The beauty of Karamea is its seclusion."

Ray Douglas: "We got this sort of reaction to the Haast highway 50 years ago. If the link is going to go north – this is the best option. As for the blue duck, if you can find any after the many 1080 drops good luck to you."

Trish Keith: "I think it's a brilliant idea and would greatly open up the West Coast tourism path. I fully support it."