TRENCHES ON ROADS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 33, 25 March 1942, Page 4

TRENCHES ON ROADS

ONLY AUTHORISED MILITARY ORDERS COUNTY'S POSITION DEFINED Writing the Whakatane County Council yesterday the secretary, of the New Zealand Counties' Association stated that recently the following questions had been aske<l (a) If , the Home Guard has power to dig trenches along a road, and (b) if it has no power, would tlie County Council be 1 responsible for any damage caused through, these trenches being on a roadway? The Association's solicitor advised that the Home Guard has no power to dig trenches along a road unless as, part of fence Forces it does, so under orders from the Minister in pursuance of Defence Emergency Regulations. The council is not liable for accident if work is done under such orders but it might be held liable! in of unauthorised work if it tQQk. steps to remedy the dangerous state of a road. To safeguard their councils, County Clerks were advised to: (1) Make careful investigations (nto any order or authority submitted by the Home Guard. A proper order should be signed by a responsible military officer. (2) Erect a protective fence 1 around any trench dug on a road, if such trench lias been dug without mili-t tary authority. , 3 (3) Stop any trench digging on reads without proper authority.