Waipa folk keen on calling in council

18 August 2014

Monitoring and enforcement staff at Waipa District Council spent the last three months of the financial year dealing with complaints ranging from the use of golf balls to the keeping of emus.

Planning and regulatory manager Wayne Allan said often enforcement staff were being asked to get involved in issues that neighbours may once have sorted out themselves.

People seem more and more reluctant to try to resolve issues between themselves. Instead, they raise these issues with council enforcement staff and we have to spend time and money sorting out problems which in the past, we may not have had to deal with.

In the last quarter, complaints were received about golf balls being hit onto residential roofs, stock crossings not being cleaned, overhanging trees, pigs in Pirongia and emus being kept in residential areas. There were also complaints about skateboarders in Cambridge, litter on reserves and the use of a property as a bed and breakfast (which wasn't upheld).

In Te Awamutu, council staff dealt with 121 excessive noise complaints compared to 100 in Cambridge and 11 in Pirongia. Fifteen complaints were received about smoke from neighbourhood fires.

I'm not suggesting these are trivial complaints. But there is a cost to having to deal with them that is borne by all ratepayers. It's important people respect their neighbours' rights to enjoy their properties. That will help avoid arguments between neighbours and enforcement action by the council.

There were 32 parking complaints received over the three months, mainly related to vehicles parked in Empire and Victoria Streets in Cambridge and Alexander and Market Streets in Te Awamutu. Tickets for exceeding time limits were issued by council staff, as well as a ticket for a non-registered vehicle. During the quarter, there were 128 complaints about barking dogs and 51 complaints about stock on roads.

Food and alcohol also featured. During the quarter, council staff dealt with five complaints about food or food premises and one for alleged after-hours sales from a liquor outlet.

ENDS

Media enquiries: Jeanette Tyrrell 027 5077 599