Residents at a beachside settlement will find out what the Government's plans are for buying back their homes on Tuesday.
A landslide of rock, wood and mud came thundering through the small town of Matata in 2005, destroying 27 properties in its path. Residents have been battling to stay ever since it was deemed too dangerous to live there.
Just a shell was left of Rob Pierce's home. Back then he wasn't sure if he could rebuild. Today he's fighting to keep the house he was told he could.
"It needs to go to court and we need to fight it and we need to fight for other people," he says.
It will cost $15 million to buy out residents and clear the land. On Tuesday the community will learn the details of how the Government and regional council will help pay.
"These people are in harm's way and we have a moral and legal obligation," a spokesperson for the council says.
But it's a risk the residents all willing to take.
"We'll be staying here until we're taken out in a box really," Pierce says
A united front from a community battling to stay after more than a decade.
Newshub.
