Hornby phone wires not to go underground

Press, 4 August 1987, Page 4

Hornby phone wires not to go underground

Underground telephone wiring in a section of Hornby has had to be abandoned because of the high costs rendered by the user-pays system introduced by Telecom, Paparua County councillors were told last evening. At a council meeting held last evening Cr M. I. Corbett said the Telecom Corporation had advised that it would not bury existing overhead wires in a I.skm area of Taurlma, Amuri, Tinokore streets and Ngata Place. Telecom had asked the Hornby District Community council to pay for most of the work at a cost of $lOO,OOO this year and about double that amount next year, she said. The council had decided it could not afford to pay for putting underground the telephone wires as proposed by

Telecom. But it was agreed that it would be in the council’s best interests to proceed with underground street lighting cables and erect new cables and fittings. Councillors were aware there would be 31 more poles which would not improve the appearance of the area, Cr Corbett said. “It is all quite unfortunate and very disappointing but there Is no way the council could afford to pay for the underground telephone cabling,” she said. Cr James Kyle said Telecom had not taken the opportunity to lay its cables in the trenches dug in the area for power lines. “It represents bureaucratic stupidity that the trenches are there and Telecom does not take advantage of it,” he said.