July 20, 2005

Media Release (For Immediate Release)

Swanson Landslip – Urgent Clearance Begins

Priority work to clear a major slip in the Swanson Stream will begin today.

Tonnes of debris crashed into the stream and onto the adjacent Redwood Park Golf Course after heavy rains, blocking the waterway and causing water levels to rise as high as 3m upstream.

Waitakere City Councillors this morning held an urgent meeting to discuss the situation. They have instructed contractors to begin work as soon as possible to clear the dammed debris, which stretches for some 15 metres.

Mayor Bob Harvey says it is too early to speculate as to whether the slip was caused by erosion of the stream bank or work carried out on private property on the hillside above- or a combination of both.

The Council has however commissioned an urgent geo-technical report on the cause of the slip.

“The immediate need is to deal with the slip and to allay the concerns of property owners upstream and downstream who are fearful of more damage,” Mayor Harvey says.

“But over the next week or so we will be looking closely at the causes, and who might be liable for the costs of clearing the slip and any restoration work that might be required. Naturally we want to ensure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen again and the geo-tech report will give us the answers to why this has happened.”

Mayor Harvey also commented that resource consents for a model railway being built on the property above the slip site have in the past been issued by independent planning commissioners.

ENDS

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