Concern remains about Clifton Hill boulders

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33253, 16 June 1973, Page 1

Concern remains about Clifton Hill boulders

Clifton Hill residents have complained about lack of official action regarding potential danger from falling rocks — more than four months after a fire left boulders insecure on the steep hillside between Kinsey Terrace and Panorama Road.

One resident, who lives in a house severely damaged several years ago by a boulder which burst through the back wall, said that he had been in communication with various authorities but “no action at all” had been taken. Mrs M. Bassett, ■whose lounge window was only a The ruins of one of the houses photographed this week.

yard from the flames at the height of the fire on February 7 which destroyed three houses and several outbuildings, said that after the fire there had been “two days of fuss, and then they forgot all about it.” The Sumner Residents’ Association wants the Ministry of Works to inspect the boulder-covered land and report to the residents on its condition. “The Ministry of Works is traditionally the body to consult about engineering problems,” said the association’s president (Mr G. M. Roberts). “Its engineers could mark any rocks that are dangerous, and give the owners advice on removing or consolidating them.” “ANXIOUS” Mr Roberts said that the association did not know if the owners of the land had done anything about making the boulders safe. But they were anxious that the area be inspected and cleared by a recognised expert. However, the Ministry of Works says that it has no authority to go on to private land. The district civil engineer (Mr P. M. Newby) said that the Ministry of Works would give any advice if it was approached. “Surely, if the local people have any worries, they should approach the City Council. If the City Council does anything, we shall, of course assist it,” he said. The City Engineer’s department does not, in fact, intend to do anything. It, too, has told residents that it is up to the owners of private land to rectify the situation. The North Canterbury Catchment Board was told in early April that two owners would be oversowing by hand and planting trees. Stakes have been seen on parts of the land, but much of it is still bare and black.

Asked by “The Press” what he had done since the fire, one owner said that he had done all that he was recommended to do by experts who had investigated the danger soon after the fire. The other, when told by "The Press” of the Sumner Residents’ Association’s wish for an expert investigation of the rocks, said that he had no comment. Fie did not wish to discuss the matter with a reporter. “RECOGNISED EXPERT” Mr Roberts said that the Residents’ Association was not suggesting that the owners had not made any or every effort to reduce the danger. But residents’ minds would not be at rest until a recognised expert had pronounced the area safe. To this end, he had been in correspondence with the City Council, the Mayor (Mr N. G. Pickering), the Ministry of Works, and the member of Parliament for Lyttelton (Mr T. M. McGuigan). In the week after the February fire, Mr McGuigan discussed the situation with the Minister of Works (Mr Watt) with a view to determining how the Ministry of Works might assist the City Council. It was reported from Wellington that the Commissioner of Works would be asked for a report on the dangers arising from the exposure of the boulders. The residents of Sumner have not yet seen or heard anything of this report. According to Mr Newby, the local Ministry’ of Works did, inspect the hillside and offer

advice soon after the fire,l when the rocks were “very l dangerous”; but had prepared “nothing that could justify the title of report.” In the May edition of the Sumner district newspaper, “Shoreline,” Mr McGuigan said that the decision that the City Council and the Ministry of Works had no power to compel property owners to act was “cold comfort for those people whose homes could be affected by falling boulders.” “I have taken the matter up with the Attorney-General (Dr Finlay),” he assured Sumner residents. NO SUBSIDY SOUGHT The securing of the rocks might have come under the authority of the North Canterbury Catchment Board because it involved soil conservation and erosion control. However, the board’s soil conservation committee reported that no subsidy assistance had been sought, and none was recommended. Representatives of the Catchment Board, the City Council, the Ministry of Works; and Messrs McGuigan and Pickering inspected the hillside soon after the fire. Mr Pickering assured the residents that, with the Min-. istry of Works, the council

would deal with the loosened, boulders on the hillside near Kinsey Terrace. “This boulder business is not for amateurs,” Mr Pickering said then. Four months later, the Sumner Residents’ Association is making the same point. MINISTER’S COMMENT Mr McGuigan said last evening that he had asked, the Minister of Works and! Development (Mr Watt) soon after the fire to consult the Commissioner of Works about the boulder problem. This has led to discussions between Christchurch Ministry of Works officers and Christchurch City Council representatives.

Their report had been that neither organisation had responsibility for “private areas.” Of his approach to Dr Finlay, Mr McGuigan said that Dr Finlay had spent some time away at the Inter-j national Court of Justice, and I the matter was now with the Crown Law Office. Its opinion j would be known “in a few] days,” Mr McGuigan said. I