ALLENTON RATING.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 18, 1 November 1940, Page 6

ALLENTON RATING.

DECISION OF MAGISTRATE. SATISFACTORY TO' THE COUNTY. Satisfaction, with! the decisions of the Assessment Court in the hearing of objections against the rating classification of Allen ton for river protection work,- was expressed by the Ashburton County Council to-day. The County Clerk (Mr G. Kelly) submitted a report on the decisions, which was adopted. The report stated that the Magistrate decided that as no floods ill ad been experienced in Allenton for many years, Allenton would gain, no immediate benefit from the river work, sucii as rural lands in A Class, and should not- therefore be classed A. He therefore reduced Class A to Class B. No amendment Was made to the B Class lands east of Walnut Arvenue and Winter’s Road, but a small strip of riverbed land classed B was amended' to I>. The area classified C consisting of th© thickly populated portion of Allenton known as the triangle was not amended, hut a small area at the south-west corner of Walnut Avenue was raised from O to B. Definite figures showing the effect of the amendment cannot be given until the lists are amended, but it appears that Allenton’s proportion will be reduced from £214, as proposed, to about £145. Even on this basis Allenton’s contribution for interest on the loan and for maintenance work will be in the vicinity of 20 per cent. In adopting the report the Council felt that as so few of the objections were upheld, only those in Class A and a small portion of 'Class C being, alter - ied, the position would be quite satisfactory to ratepayers of the County as well as of the Borough. It was left to the Council's solicitor (Mr R. Kennedy) to confer with the Borough solicitor (Mr L. A. Charles) to decide the question of legalising, the co'ntri- , bution from the Borough itself towards the cost of the work, as agreed to by the Borough Council some time ago. It was then found that the Borough had no legal power to give effect to its decision.