M.O.W. asked to deal with slips

Press, 17 September 1976, Page 4

M.O.W. asked to deal with slips

Two Lyttelton families I who homes have been threatened by hillside slips met the Mayor of Lyttelton (Mr J. B Collett) yeste. *av afternoon to try to reach agreement on what action should be taken. For the last three weeks i Mr and Mrs S. Schenkel and Mr and Mrs R. Brandon have been protesting loudly that < no-one was prepared to accept responsibility for the' stability of the hills behind their homes. After the meeting, Mr Col-, lett said the council had asked the Ministry of works' to use its power under the Soil Conservation and Rivers, control Act to deal with the slips. Under the act, said Mr Col- i

Ilett, the Ministry of Works, ffiad the power to direct landowners to take remedial action — a power which councils do not have. Mr Collett said he had j asked the Ministry to give ,the matter urgent considera-i tion. Mr Collett said he doubted 1 ithe accuracy of the report] (that said the Minister ofj Works and Development (Mr W. L. Young) had ruled that] the Lyttelton Borough Council was responsible for the stability of surrounding hill- , sides. He felt that perhaps Mr and Mrs Schenkel had misinterpreted the ruling made by the Minister of Works and

Development (Mr W. L. Young). “By the time it had come through Miss Dewe, the Schenkels, and back to the newspapers, the interpretation was inaccurate," he said.

He said Mr Young had since clarified the position by pointing out that the council had no ri"ht to order the owners of the property to do anything about the slips. It was up to the Ministry of Works to use its powers Ito deal with the slips, the I council had done everything lit was permitted to do by asking the Ministry of Works jto deal with the problem. “We fully agree with Mr Young’s ruling,’’ said Mr Collett.