House move rejected

Press, 1 May 1984, Page 9

House move rejected

The Paparua County council. will not permit a Woolston house to be moved into its county in spite of the possibility of court action. The chief building inspector, Mr T. J. Bridges, told the council’s finance committee yesterday that when the application to move the weatherboard house into Paparua County was made last October he inspected it for suitability. The house, several decades old was off its foundations and resting on blocks, he said. It was excessively racked, the paint was peeling and he decided the building was not suitable to be shifted into the county. The application was declined on the ground that the house was not structurally sound. The county engineer, Mr J. D. Annan, said he had seen the house and agreed with Mr Bridge’s decision. The matter would only be resolved in court, now, he said, so the council might as well face it in court. Cr R. G. Pearce said that if the council changed its mind because of the threat of legal action it would be

in a very weak position in the future. He, with the res t of the committee, supported the council’s stance. Mr P. L. Arbuckle, the owner of the house, intends to seek a permit via the courts as well as restitution of moneys lost while the building has been out of action. Meadow Mushrooms The council is unlikely to consider taking court action against Meadow Mushrooms, Ltd, for at least another three months. The council’s finance committee decided yesterday to recommend to the council that the company be given more time to conduct odour elimination experiments. It set a deadline of three months for the company to come up with something that will reduce or eliminate the smell from the factory. The recommendation was made after some discussion of the meeting by the Meadow Mushrooms subcommittee which was attended by councillors and

council staff last month. At that meeting the council’s chief health inspector said that although the company had done little to abate the smell up to 12 months ago, it was now facing up to its responsibilities and conducting experiments to try and solve the problem. He said that prosecution would not achieve any real benefit at this stage. Meadow Mushrooms had employed a consultant from Lincoln College to try to amend the problem, he said. Experiments included using spray irrigators to create walls of water which would prevent the sideways dispersal of the smell. Cr Baker said yesterday that the smell was not getting any better. “I’m not prepared to let the company go on experimenting for ever,” he said. More smells No immediate action will be taken on another smell in the Paparua County. Councillors and council staff met representatives of the Waitaki N.Z. Refrigerating works in late March to discuss smells from the Isl-

The meeting was held after the council received complaints about smells from the company’s ponding area in late February. The company’s works manager had suggested the smell could have come from field irrigation. It was aggravated by climatic conditions and a mechanical breakdown in the sedimentation tank, which had now been repaired. The company has also been told by the Christchurch Drainage Board that the latter would take the balance of the pelt effluent S’ ’ id the effluent was to an acceptable standard. The finance committee decided to request regular monthly reports from the company outlining what steps were being taken to solve the offensive smell problem. Permits Last month 151 building permits were issued in the county for a total value of more than $2.5 million, compared with 116 permits valued at $1.5 million issued for the same month last year.

Senior-Sergeant David Haslett displays part of a cache of stolen jewellery found by Christchurch detectives yesterday morning under the front seat of a car. The police break squad is trying to trace the owners of the 150 items of jewellery which included rings, bracelets, brooches, necklaces, and bangles. At least 10 engagement rings are among the haul. Detectives have not yet had a chance to value the recovered jewellery. Charges will probably be laid against a man in connection with the find.