The oiling of unsealed roads is set to commence again in October, Queenstown Lakes District Council Wanaka operations manager Chris Hawker said.

"Unfortunately we cannot commence oiling until the last week of October and in some respects we have been caught out by the mild winter, hence the roads are already starting to dry out," Mr Hawker said.

The first oiling would take place in late October with a second oiling scheduled for late Janurary/February.

"The cost to the whole community for oiling is significant, we have committed a budget of $200,000 to oiling in the district," Mr Hawker said.

Therefore the council had to optimise the benefit of two oilings.

"We acknowledge that some residents would prefer to pay themselves to oil more often and on that basis we have ensured that private oiling is now available through our roading contractor Works Infrastructure," Mr Hawker said.

Anyone who wanted to know more could contact council's customer services staff in the first instance.

Oiling dates were subject to weather.

ENDS

For more information please contact Chris Hawker 03 443 8197

By: Tamah