Horse-drawn carriage plan for depot

Press, 9 February 1989, Page 10

Horse-drawn carriage plan for depot

By

JANE DUNBAR

The owner of a horse-drawn carriage service is proposing to take over the Christchurch Drainage Board’s Tuam Street depot as a base for his business.

Mr Aubrey Staples, of Revival Rides, Ltd, has written to the board with a proposal which has the support' of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

His plans include dis- ' playing carriages in what are now used as car garages, and setting up the old pumping station as a place for a leather worker.

Mr Staples has also approached the police suggesting they use the facilities if approval is given, for a mounted police service.

Mr Staples’ letter was received at a Drainage Board operation, services, and staff committee meeting on Tuesday. An offer to sell the property has already been made to the Christchurch City Council for $230,000, plus GST. But the council was still thinking about it, said the chairman of the board, Mr Newton Dodge. “They think if they fob it off long enough they won’t need to buy it,” he said. The property would go to the new Christchurch authority when it was set up in October.

Mr Dodge said the property should be sold before October so the money could be spent on drainage for the city. Odour problems Leaks through the cover on the operating filter at the Christchurch treatment works are probably responsible for increased odour problems recently. A complaint about the odour had been made by an Aranui resident, and staff members had noticed a difference during light wind conditions in January, the committee heard. The source of the odour was difficult to identify, but it could be from leaks through the centre hatch of the cover on the operating filter, said the chief engineer, Mr Peter Hunt. Extra sealing had been put in place around the hatch, he said. River litter

The Canterbury Promotion Council is concerned about the amount of litter in the Avon River, the committee heard.

To help deal with the problems, a weekly clearing of rubbish from the river running through the central city has been proposed.

Since 1983 a riverclearing gang has cleared the river about every four weeks.

The problem area is mostly through the Botanic Gardens and down to the Madras Street bridge. The clearing of the river between the Antigua boatsheds and Madras Street involves about six hours work. Maximum salary The committee recommended the salary of the board’s chief engineer be set at the maximum level allowed by the State Services Commission. It recommends the salary be $77,030, with $9062 in benefits.

If the board approves the recommendations, the deputy chief engineer will be paid $69,327; the operations engineer and the design and planning engineer, $61,100 each; and the chief administration officer, $61,624.