OXFORD-TO-SEA SCHEME

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25161, 17 April 1947, Page 3

OXFORD-TO-SEA SCHEME

Delay For A Year Foreseen

EFFECT OF DECISION BY KAIAPOI COUNCIL The Kaiapoi Borough Council is not prepared to assist the North Canterbury Catchment Board in meeting objections to the Oxford-to-the-Sea scheme. This was the decision reached by the council at a meeting on Tuesday evening, and a representative of the board said yesterday that the scheme would probably have to be delayed for a year. Board representatives discussed the proposal with the council earlier this week. A letter commenting on the latest developments was sent to the council yesterday by the chairman of the board (Mr W. Machin). “As we suggested to you on Monday evening, we thought the offer we had worked out was so much to the advantage of your ratepayers that your council would have been anxious to assist in the promotion of an agreement with those who have objected to the classification,” states Mr Machin’s letter. “Seeing that the attitude of your council will be known to the objectors and may give them cause to persist in their objections, we feel that no good purpose will be served in our calling a meeting at the present time. “Seeing that our estimates have to be formulated and our rates made in May. it seems there will be too little tirrie to arrange these in default of agreement. In the meantime, we shall have to turn our attention to works in other parts of the district. “We cannot help feeling that your council has taken a rather large responsibility in this matter if it should happen that the coming winter is a severe and wet one, such as the Northern Hemisphere has recently experienced.”

A letter on similar lines has been sent to the solicitors handling the case for objectors in the Rangiora borough.