Infrastructure Strategy Marlborough’s reputation as a visitor destination relies on the experience of our Forestry visitors. That means roads need to be safe for both Forestry directly contributes 6% to the local economy and business and leisure users, and resilient to natural harvesting is expected to increase by 30% over the next hazards. Uncongested roads with good ride surfaces six years. Maintaining roads and bridges in remote and a limitation of dust on the unsealed sections will forestry areas which are strong enough to take the weight also enhance visitors’ experiences. of larger, heavier vehicles is an infrastructure challenge Safe drinking water directly from the tap is a common for Marlborough. expectation for many visitors. As more tourists travel into the remote areas, maintaining safety for all the road users requires more consideration. Heavy vehicles travelling on unsealed roads also create Aquaculture, seafood and fishing large dust clouds. These can become both a hazard and a nuisance to other road Aquaculture, seafood and fishing make a major contribution to the local economy. users, visitors and the growing numbers of residents living on lifestyle blocks. Marlborough salmon and green lipped mussels are a luxury product valued around the world. It is estimated that around 522 people work specifically in seafood processing, Population and 175 employed in offshore aquaculture activities. Another 1,787 work in Since the 2013 census Marlborough’s population is estimated to have increased to aquaculture and fishing support services. approximately 45,500. More than 55% of the Marlborough population lives in There may be some potential to increase the productivity of aquaculture in the Blenheim, with a further 16% in Picton and Renwick. Marlborough Sounds but there is growing concern over the negative environmental Most population growth since 2006 has occurred in Blenheim and Renwick. There was consequences of intensive fish farming. Further expansion is likely to meet with some an overall decline in usual resident population of Picton although there was strong resistance. growth in the Waikawa area. Prime building land in Waikawa is becoming less readily There is growing recognition of the health benefits of fish oil and fish-based products. available and future growth in this area may be limited. There may be more opportunity to add value and open new markets through There is clear evidence from the 2013 census that the rate of population growth developing pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products than on increasing sales of the throughout New Zealand is slowing down. Natural reproductive growth is declining due traditional products. However, seafood processing typically uses large volumes of to the age distribution of the population and continued growth is becoming more reliant clean water and produces equivalent volumes of liquid waste. Meeting the additional on inward migration. demand for water supply and waste water treatment may become a challenge. Sheep and beef farming Many migrants are attracted to, and settle in, the larger cities. The elderly also tend to move to urban areas where social and medical services are more readily available. For Sheep and beef cattle farming continues to be a strong both these reasons statisticians are predicting a general decline in rural provincial contributor to the regional economy, with an estimated populations and growth in the major urban areas, especially Auckland. 491 people working directly in stock farming. Many more workers are employed in the farm services Statistics New Zealand has provided a range of population projections based on the sector, supplying everything from animal feed to tractor results of the 2013 census. The low, medium and high growth scenarios for the repairs to fencing services. Marlborough region are shown on the following page. Remotely located farms rely on strong roads and bridges for access by heavy vehicles. As the sunniest area in New Zealand, our climate, beautiful environments and healthy Dairy farms are particularly reliant on constant road access to take the daily milk for economy will continue to attract people to our area. This will help to counterbalance processing the general trend for provincial New Zealand. Partly because of this uncertainty planners use the medium to high projection as a basis for planning future service provision in Marlborough. There are long lead-in times for major projects with public consultation, land purchase negotiations, resource consent approval and construction. 2018-2028 Long Term Plan Page 173