Staff ‘told to take gravel’ from pit

Press, 2 June 1989, Page 4

Staff ‘told to take gravel’ from pit

By

TOM METCALFE

Works Corporation staff who took gravel from a Paparua County pit near Rolleston had been told they could use the pit by a warder from nearby Rolleston Prison, it was alleged yesterday. The corporation’s Property Services division southern manager, Mr Alex Cooke, said the staff believed the pit belonged to the prison and they had been told by a prison officer to “help yourself.” The pit, on Two Chain Road, is only a few hundred metres from the prison. Because Rolleston is a minimum security prison, no fences separate it from the pit. Mr Cooke said corporation staff gained access to the pit through the prison gate and had taken gravel from the pit for about 18 months.

The corporation used the gravel for filling potholes at Burnham Military Camp and had not taken

more than a total of 160 cu m during that time. The corporation had nothing to do with the 2000 cu m of gravel that council staff say went missing from the pit about two months ago, he said. But the superintendent of Rolleston Prison, Mr Tony Spencer, said yesterday that as far as he knew, none of his staff gave permission for the corporation to take gravel from the pit. “It’s not our pit. It’s not for us to give the gravel away,” he said. A few weeks ago the prison’s administration staff had seen three or four corporation trucks use the prison entrance to the pit and take gravel.

Trucks could use the prison entrance to get to the pit without having to go through the prison itself, where they would be checked, Mr Spencer said.

Staff had also seen three trucks and a loader working in the pit about the time the gravel is said to have gone missing. The

vehicles were not corporation trucks, and were entering the pit using the council’s gate on Two Chain Road. The staff assumed that they had permission to be there.

Paparua’s county engineer, Mr Allan Watson, said yesterday that the council now accepted that the corporation believed it had permission to use the shingle. •It also appeared the corporation had used the prison entrance to get to the pit, rather than the gate on Two Chain Road.

The council had had trouble with the prison using gravel from the pit some years ago.

The council accepted that the corporation had only taken about 160 cu m of gravel and was not responsible for the disappearance of almost 2000 cu m about two months ago. The missing gravel is valued at more than $12,000 and the matter is being investigated by the police.