Rubbish row costly

A long battle to stop a resident letting junk overflow onto land at Bradford Park in Sydenham has left the Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board with a possibly expensive issue to sort out.

The board asked city council staff for a report on options for the deeds land which borders the park because of the long running issue.

Forbes St property owner Mark Campbell had let a mountain of items including a bus, vehicles, and building materials overflow from his backyard on to the land, and annoyed other residents for 12 years.

In mid-year the city council obtained an enforcement order against Mr Campbell in the Environment Court, and council investigations and compliance manager Anne Columbus said he'd cleaned it up and removed rubbish to the council's satisfaction within 42 days as he was required to.

"If Mr Campbell collects and stores rubbish again on the same site, the council can direct him to remedy the situation within a 48-hour time frame," she said. "This is a continuing condition of the enforcement order."

The issue with Mr Campbell over the untidy storage of personal property on what appeared to be public land also led the community board to seek a report on options open to it in relation to the deeds land.

However, after receiving a report from parks and waterways planner Eric Banks at its last meeting, it has decided to let the matter lie on the table until its next meeting on December 14.

Dump row costs mount

Mr Banks' report said the strip of land was unclaimed deeds land and it would first be necessary to initiate a search for the party entitled to a grant of probate in the estate of the last known owner, in order to negotiate.

He warned that purchasing the strip and/or another deeds strip on the northern side, research to find the owner, and buying the land could cost up to $283,000.

The northern strip was valued at $117,000 and the eastern strip where the issue with Mr Campbell had developed was valued at $170,000.

No budget provision had been made for the legal, investigative, or purchase costs associated with acquiring the lots, the report said.

Staff recommended "maintaining the status quo" - not actively pursuing purchase of either piece of land at present - and chairman Phil Clearwater said board members would consider the options carefully before their next meeting.