Social housing falls victim to council error

By Frank Neill

A Wainuiomata businessman’s plans to provide housing for needy M ori families has failed because he could not get resource consent for social housing.

Ian Lang is the owner of Pricebusters in Queen Street.

He developed four apartments above his shop and spoke to Te T papa Kura K inga, the M ori housing provider with the aim of making the apartments available to needy M ori families.

That could not happen when the time came to place people into the apartments however.

The reason for that was that Ian could not get a building compliance certificate from Hutt City Council due to issues with the backflow preventers.

Backflow is the unwanted reverse flow of water or potentially polluted or contaminated water back into a drinking water supply. It is prevented through the installation of backflow prevention devices.

The reason he was unable to obtain a building compliance certificate was because the backflow preventers had been placed underground in Queen Street.

In doing that, Ian says, Hutt City Council has “not following its own rules”.

It “beggars belief” that the Hutt City Council did that. “It’s just crazy.

“Why did they ignore the council’s own regulations and the government’s regulations not to put them [the backflow preventers] underground?

“As a ratepayer I’m just shocked.

“What’s the point of rules if the people who make the rules don’t follow them?” Ian asks.

“I started my business, the Pricebusters Store, here in Wainuiomata in 1983,” he says.

“The idea of building the flats was to give something back to Wainuiomata, but I couldn’t get a building compliance consent.

“For me it was heartbreaking that when we got to the end of the project I could not lease them to to people who needed them the most.”

In a bid to try and change that, he spoke to his insurance company.

However they would not insure the apartments for social housing, Ian says.

Ian has now leased the four apartments, but not to needy people as he had intended.

Non-compliant backflow preventers are not the only issue facing Queen Street businesses in the wake of the Queen Street upgrade.

Covers that protect tobies are also a problem.

“The toby covers are 80kg, which is really unweildy,” says Clive Cannons of Clive’s Chemists.

That weight makes them difficult to lift.

In fact it takes four people to lift the toby covers in Queen Street, one shop owner told the “Independent Herald”.

“Wellington Water and Hutt City Council are aware of, and working with customers in Queen Street, Wainuiomata regarding backflow prevention, devices which prevent water flowing back into the water supply and contaminating it,” Hutt City Council told the “Independent Herald”.

“We acknowledge and appreciate there are some customer concerns with the installation of backflow devices, following the recent footpath upgrade and advice that was provided at that time,” Hutt City Council says.

“We take these concerns seriously and are working together to understand the issue and ensure suitable backflow protection is in place that meets the new regulatory requirements.

“Our primary focus is providing businesses/customers with the necessary guidance and support to ensure the least disruption.

“Hutt City Council will cover the cost and installation of the equipment.

“We will be working with businesses/customers individually over the coming weeks to find a solution tailored to fit their specific property requirements.

“We recognise the weight of the covers protecting the toby and backflow device is an issue and we are looking at a workable solution to address the problem,” the council says.

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