DANGER TO CHILDREN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 46, 27 June 1947, Page 8

DANGER TO CHILDREN

DRAIN AT EDGECUMBE TO BE PIPED AND FILLED A deep drain in the township of Edge cum be which was said to be a danger to young children was the subject of considerable discussion fee * meeting of the Whakatane County Council. Or W. Hunter reported on behalf of Or McCracken and the County Engineer that they had conferred with residents whose homes front on to the Edgecumbe Railway Road. This drain is seven feet in places and full of water at times, and people are concerned about the danger to children. All the residents present had been in favour of piping the drain and filling it in. The only resident on this road who was not present was Mr O. V. Marx, and he now wished to lodge an objection to this proposal because he feared that it would result in his section becoming waterlogged. Introduced by Cr Hunter, Mr Marx told the council that he considered that a piped drain on Railway Road would not be satisfactory. His section was lower than the others. He suggested that the road drain be done away with and that a drain be constructed at the back of the properties. The engineer outlined what he proposed to do to make sure that Mr Marx’s property was drained effectively. He said that the other residents had been agreeable to contributing towards the cost of a drain at the rear of their sections if the roadside drain when piped and filled in was not effective. After Mr Marx had retired from the meeting the council discussed the matter further and passed the following resolution: “That provided all propertyowners involved are prepared to construct at their own expense and to the satisfaction of the county engineer a drain at the back boundary of their properties to Mr Marx’s property the council will then fill in the road drain and pipe it.”

In discussion on this motion it was stated that the cost of registering an agreement against the titles and other legal and survey costs would be greater than the cost of digging the drain. For this reason the council did not favour asking the residents concerned to sign an agreement to pay the cost of a drain at the rear of their sections if the piped drain was not effective.