Spreydon residents air views

Press, 28 August 1986, Page 9

Spreydon residents air views

A meeting to discuss flooding problems and the condition of local streets drew more than 130 people to Spreydon last evening. Local councillors, the City Engineer, Mr John Ince, and a Drainage Board engineer, Mr lan Hunter, were present to answer questions and explain policies and plans. ■ Flooding of streets and properties had been a problem for the last 45 years, said local residents. The Harkers StreetNeville Street intersection was a particular problem area.

Mr Graeme Donaldson, of Sumner Street, said, “We expect to have a certain amount of surface water, but eight inches?” Mr Hunter said that the Drainage Board was in the process of finding a solution to the problem. One of the basic blocks to stopping the flooding was that the Heathcote River, where stormwater from the area would eventually end up, could not hold the extra flow. “There is an even more serious flooding problem for the residents along the river than there is here,”

he said. The Drainage Board had proposed to make the Heathcote River channel a little bigger by trimming the banks and removing a few trees. However, there had been objections to this idea — by the City Council, which hoped to find cheaper ways to control flooding, and by 304 local residents, who had signed a petition against the proposal. There was now a catchment planning advisory group, which included staff from various local bodies and councils, hop-

ing to find a solution, Mr Hunter said. The original proposal would cost $5 million, spread over a few years. Some of the residents asked that if they had a petition with 400 signatures, would their needs override those of the Heathcote residents? The member of Parliament for Sydenham, Mr Jim Anderton, who chaired the meeting, said he was sure it would not hurt to let the Drainage Board know how the residents felt. The condition of roads, footpaths and gutters was

also discussed at the meeting. I Mrs Linda Stock said i, that if the women who used the footpaths could i do the planning, instead i of the people who sat in offices and drove cars, a i much better job would be : done. The West Spreydon Ratepayers’ Action Com- • mittee, which organised i the meeting, said it was I delighted with the high attendance. It has already ! begun to circulate a petition calling for the immediate elimination of the flooding problem in the : area.