Tai Tapu sewerage scheme delays

Press, 25 January 1979, Page 6

Tai Tapu sewerage scheme delays

The long-discussed sewer-t! age scheme for the Tai Tapu i township now hinges on how < much money from a Govern- t ment subsidy the Paparua 1 County can obtain. 1 The scheme was thor- < oughly planned, and was 1 basically accepted by residents early last year. But i since then, the Ministry of i Works and Development" has ■ slowed progress by proposing two alternative schemes,.. both of which had previously h been considered by the', county. This was brought out yesterday at a meeting of the Rural District Council by.; the County Engineer (Mr J. . D. Annan). The council had applied toi the Local Authorities Loans Board for special assistance for the project last vear. The board replied that it had had its attention drawn to two alternative schemes, both cheaper, which had been ad-' vanced by the Ministry. The department’s’ head office had apparently sug-| gested the alternative! schemes to the Loans Board,' without the knowledge of I either the Christchurch' office of the department or| anv consultation with county! officers or their planners. | Steven, Fitzmaurice, and Panners.

The alternative suggested by the Ministry had been investigated by the county and the consultants. Mr Annan reported, and rejected as being unsatisfactory. . Under the circumstances, he reported, the originally proposed plan should proceed, subject to what subsidy funds might be available from the Government. The matter will now be treated with urgency and another application sent to the Loans Board. “I am concerned that officers of the Ministry of Works and Development should report to the board without first having contact " ith the council’s consultants or council staff,” Mr Annan said.

Further complicating the situation is a costing proposal put forward by the consultants, who base their figures on the development of further sections by subdividers in the area.

“The most significant assumption.” reported Mr Annan. “i s that all the developers will sub-divide and voluntarilv nav a capital contribution of SI 200 per lot before the scheme is commissioned.

“It is believed that these offers to nay a lump sum w-ere made by developers some time ago when subdivision was at ‘a boom.'

I Some of these entrepreneurs i are feeling the effects of the ; down turn in the economy, : and there is no guarantee i that the consultants’ assump- 1 tion of $106,000 of voluntary contribution will come to ■ hand. “The next assumption is that all newly created lots i will be built upon, pre-ji sumably about or very soon; : after, the time of commis-;' isioning of the scheme, and; I that the loan charges and' ■ operating costs will be met! by 180 householders,” Mr | Annan said. At present there are only! • 85 dwelling and commercial; premises in the township! area. 1 “When one considers the present and projected state of the economy, population trends, the increasing costs of travel, the costs of mortgage moneys, and perhaps the rate demand, the likeli-! ihood of Tai Tapu’s booming [ is not great,” Mr Annan said. I He also noted that the consultants assumed that the ■council would charge “a [significantly large connection I fee, perhaps in excess of [s2oo, presumably to cover! I the cost of each house lateral,” At present-day prices, the ;cost of the initial stage of

the project has been set at $354,000 and could cost present householders well in excess of $5OO a year on the basis of there being no voluntary contributions by developers. The consultants, meanwhile, have suggested that the initial site of the treatI ment plant be shifted from the proposed site west of [Tai Tapu, to the eastern [side, where discharge could Ibe made to Burkes Drain, land thence into the Halswell [ River. [ This, the consultants said, [would allow further sub-| ; division on the hills and I “preserve the isolation of the plant from the township.” I Oxidation ponds would be required in the area as well. Stage 2 of the scheme i would involve the addition of ■ 115 new lots to the reticula- ; tion and treatment system [and thus accommodate a ;! total of 300 lots, according . to the consultants’ estimates. ■ If this point was reached—which Mr Annan considers doubtful in the foreseeable i future—the annual cost to ’ each householder could be [reduced to $l7l a year, but ; this figure is also based on present prices for labour, i materials, and operating ’ costs.