28th February 2009.

Statement from David Thornton

Council Refuses To Release Confidential Report To Owners Of Homes Affected By Landslips.

Three home-owners in Mulberry Place, Glenfield, face a very uncertain future as the threat of landslips immediately behind their homes increases with every heavy rainfall event such as the one which forced two of their neighbours out of their homes in August last year.

The big storm of late July 2008 caused a landslip of the roadway itself and resultant land ‘creep’ of the steep land supporting two roads – Mulberry Place and Marlborough Avenue.

That slip resulted in two homes being condemned by the Earthquake Commission – and now scheduled for demolition with the land being declared unsuitable for building.

These two condemned houses are just metres away from the three homes currently under threat.

Investigation has revealed that landslips on the site of these homes have been experienced over the last 34 years – despite repeated attempts by successive councils to bring permanent stability to the land.

The North Shore City Council promised to help residents now under threat and arranged for Riley Consultants to carry out yet another geotechnical report in January.

That report, which contains vital information on the problems of stability of the land, was considered by the council’s Strategy & Finance Committee in ‘confidential’ [secret] session on 17th February and the council has refused to release the report to the affected residents.

The council says it will not release the report until it has been ‘peer reviewed’ by another consultancy, Tonkin & Taylor – this will take about two weeks.

Yesterday I asked the committee chairman, Councillor Grant Gillon, to release the original Riley report immediately so that residents could be informed of the problems affecting their land – particularly in view of threatened heavy rainfall for the Auckland region.

I told Councillor Gillon that the council had an absolute duty to give this information to the home owners who were under constant threat.

Mr Gillon again refused – saying he did not have authority to do that.

I suggested he contact members of his committee to get authority. He again refused.

In my many years involved in local government and community affairs I have never witnessed such a disgraceful response by a council to its citizens and ratepayers.

These home-owners live in constant despair for the future of their homes – and the council refuses to give them vital information to which they are entitled.

Having a peer-review offers the opportunity for some of the original findings to be altered. – and that can open a whole new avenue for mistrust and delay.

I will now be reporting this whole issue to Local Government Minister Rodney Hide and ask him if he is able to intervene on behalf of the residents.

ends

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