Council puts flooding work in 'too-hard basket', says landlord

Willy Dustin helps slow traffic outside his Maleme St business. Photo / Andrew Warner

A Greerton business owner sick of being flooded out says the Tauranga City Council has ignored his complaints and feels the problem has been placed in the "too-hard basket".

Landlord John Dustin said flooding in Maleme St happened at least once a year and "the council in the 12 years I've been here haven't done anything about it".

The council closed a section of Maleme St at 4pm yesterday. The closure came about an hour after Mr Dustin requested it, he said.

Mr Dustin owns two commercial properties on either side of the council Transfer Station. His son, Willy Dustin, is the managing director of Containers BOP on one site and rents it from his father. Together they regularly deal with water filtering through the station into their property.

"We've had containers wash in and as the tide goes out we've had containers actually lift up and debris [from the transfer station] wash over," Mr Dustin said.

The father and son spent their afternoon waving down traffic in Maleme St to make sure vehicles slowed down before hitting the water.

The men said waves caused by traffic caused damage to their containers and to people's property inside the containers. Without attention from the council, the problem would continue each year, Mr Dustin said.

"I just give up. It's as if the council have put in the too-hard basket."

His son said he received a letter earlier this year from the council referring to plans to address the flooding issue "so it's obviously on the to-do list". He doubted it would come to fruition.

Council spokesman Marcel Currin said Maleme St was one of several flood-prone roads it was grappling with.

"Flooding is not a 'too-hard basket' but it is undeniably a very difficult basket."