Landslide victims meet

Press, 7 December 1981, Page 6

Landslide victims meet

PA Auckland Residents affected by the Grey Lynn landslide will seek legal aid to ensure that their rights are protected and to challenge the authorities about alleged negligence and oversight. Seventy-five people yesterday held the first organised meeting of people affected by the slip. ■' ' Authorities have barred' people from 11 houses. The meeting was designed to set up a committee to represent those affected by the slip, organise their legal representation, hear submissions from residents, and to report to residents on the committee's progress.

The Mayor of Auckland (Mr Colin Kay), a representative of the Auckland City Council works department (Mr D. B. Leadbeater). and a council community development officer attended the meeting. Mr Leadbeater said that the council wanted information about the history of the area from residents and that the first priority was to determine the extent of the problem rather than why it happened. The council hoped to know by Thursday how many houses in the area would, have to be declared uninha-

bitable. It was unlikely that the two houses next to the demolished house could be lived in or the ground stabilised “at a reasonable cost.” The council's director of works, Mr B. T. Anderson, was preparing a report which would be considered by the Cabinet today. Residents told the meeting that they were concerned about getting into their properties to retrieve possessions and furniture and that storage should be provided once they had their goods. The residents were also concerned about the possibilities of losing out on compensation.