Case for Govt aid for Raumati

Press, 18 September 1976, Page 18

Case for Govt aid for Raumati

Moving the houses at Rau-i' mati, north of Wellington,', might be the only effective;! solution to the coastal-ii erosion problems in the area, ’, the chairman of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Con-!’ trol Council (Mr A. L. Poole) said recently. ! i

Earlier this week high tides cut the foundations under a beach home at Raumati and the building toppled into the sea. Another home had part of its foundations exposed to the pounding of the sea.

Mr Poole has recommended to the Government that in certain circumstances

people should be financially assisted to move away from areas threatened by erosion. “Coastal erosion is an illdefined area of responsibility, although proposed townplanning legislation will take care of this in the near

future. “Immediate protection measures may be considered by the Wellington Regional

i Water Board and the terriitorial local authority, which ihas responsibility for coastal ■ areas above the high-water Imark,” said Mr Poole. The first principle in presenting danger to buildings was to keep buildings well ! away from potential erosion

spots. Neither local authori--1 ties nor residents had accepted this principle, although erosion information had been available in recent times. For early’ settlements such as Raumati this information was not available, said Mr Poole. “Local authorities are still allowing people to build houses in unsafe coastal areas.” In the case of Raumati there was a case for the Government to assist with either providing alternative accommodation or with the removal

of salvable houses. Raumati residents were eligible for Soil Council assistance, but applications for this would have to be through the Wellington Regional Water Board. “The Soil Council believes that engineering works are generally not the answer. This has been proved on several major occasions already, and some other apparently successful works have yet to be fully tested by tides moving into a period of erosion,” Mr Poole said.