Petition on slips

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 6

Petition on slips

A petition seeking stronger land-protection measures on Banks Peninsula and around the Lyttelton Harbour basin will be launched as a consequence of a recent public meeting in Lyttelton. The meeting was called to discuss slipping and slumping land around the Harbour basin and what remedial action could be taken. The wording of the peti-! tion has not yet been final-, ised but it will call for the! suspension of noxious weed, spraying in affected areas until the ground has stabilised., It will also call for the enactment of legislation which . enables local bodies to order' land owners to stabilise their land with trees, or the intro-: duction of legislation which; will enable them to do so.

The meeting, which was attended by 47 people repre-

senting most Port Hills suburbs and harbour basin settlements passed a unanimous vote of no confidence in the Lyttelton Borough Council and the Mayor (Mr J. B. Collett).

I This vote was precipitated | partly because Mr Collett declined to attend the meeting and partly because of the (council's apparent long'term reluctance to take I strong and effective hillside protection measures, said the meeting organisers.

This inactivity by the counicil led to desperate Diamond [Harbour residents offering to, ]do the hillside protection] 'work themselves, because! years of pleading to the] [ council to do the work had : resulted in nothing being | ;done. For years residents of I Lyttelton's Hawkhurst Roadi area had been writing to the] council asking for action to; [prevent land slumping and 'only after bad slipping this year had the council sought

1 help from the Ministry of Works and Development. 1 Mr Collett said that he decided not to attend the meetling because it was covering ‘old ground and nothing could [be done until a report being prepared by’ the Catchment [Board was available.

As a result of the meeting (a committee will be set up [with representatives from all (interested communities on (the peninsula with land slipping problems. The aim of the committee will be to pressure decision-making bodies into taking action. The meeting also called for [the Lyttelton Borough Council to join the Catchment [Board and a recommendation will be made to the council that this be the subject of a referendum in the borough elections next year. A letter [will also be sent to the Minister of Science (Mr Gan(dar) asking for soil tests to [be done around the harbour to ascertain the soil’s suitability for tree-planting.