Council may charge fee for permits

Press, 29 November 1977, Page 6

Council may charge fee for permits

The North Canterbury! Catchment Board may have! to charge a fee for permits it issues to allow earthworks on the Pon Hills. At a meeting of the soil] conservation committee, the board s chairman (Dr W. R.l Holmes) said that although' the board did not want to doi this, it could not afford to| spend time supervising the conditions laid down on permits while thev were issued : free. The committee was discus-! sing work done in Bowenvale Avenue for Mr J. E. McGill.| in which far more soil hadheen removed than was specified on the permit. “We don’t! want to blow the whistle on: the whole free scheme because of work at 147 Bowenvale Avenue,” he said. The- committee chairman (Mr H. T. Grigg) said the main factor in the case appeared to be that Mr McGill! had been overseas at the} time.

•i And the board’s chief soil •Iconservator (Mr R. D. Dick) > said, “Such an example of ; lack of control by the owner. i supervision by his consultants Hand apparent poor workman- ■| ship by the machine operator. ■ presents problems to the i i board which can lead to the >i costly need of much closer >! supervision and inspection •bv the board’s staff.” v At a recent meeting of the , ‘ Heathcote County Council , , the matter was discussed, and , ' it was decided that a letter ; lbe sent to the Catchment. 1 ■ I Board saying that the board i was responsible for the works f ’i because it was the authority . that issued the permit. {. Dr Holmes asked, “Whose: i .] iob is it to supervise? I had. ihoped the council’s building!' rinspector would do it. After]! ■ all he was the man on the-! • spot. Perhaps he did — or|l I!was it the neighbours?” (The!< complaint originated with!' -neighbours on whose pro-1:

perty the spoil from the works had fallen.) Mr Dick said that very few of the jobs for which permits had been issued had “gone wrong,” despite two very wet winters. Earthworks on the Port Hills required accurate timing and a high degree of skill from dozer drivers. “The owner and his consultants will be better acquainted with the importance of timing in the future.” he said. Another question that these works had raised, said Mr Dick, was whether a permit could “sleep” and then 'be taken up at the wrong ttime in the winter. “How long 'can a permit last?” he asked. He told the committee that Mr McGill had now returned ]home and had been advised to make urgent application Ifor a further permit for the I excavation work so that conIditions could be applied to !rectify the present situation.;