Letter to the Editor, Tuesday June 21, 2016

There goes the view

Recently we were advised that a property over the road from us, on Col Mould Drive, was to be built upon, and that the building could be a source of irritation given that it had the potential to affect our view and general outlook.

I contacted the council building inspector, and asked if he could confirm the fact that a relocatable house was approved to be placed on a constructed base. He confirmed that this was correct and invited me to contact him to discuss my concerns.

I duly called him, and asked if the building, when completed, would exceed the height of the present houses either side of the project. He advised that whatever the height was the project had been approved and that it did not require any resource consent application, and that there was no requirement to consult neighbours.

One night, at 3am a building was delivered to the site and placed on blocks pending the construction of the base. The building was way above the roof line between the adjoining houses, and created a rather imposing sight from our lounge window. (In fact it almost filled the window view.)

So what to do? Another contact was made with the building inspector to confirm the height of the building, and we were assured that the height we could see was in fact the finished height.

A rather scathing letter was sent out by my partner to the council and the mayor, asking how it was that long-term ratepayers such as us were to be treated in this way, and that there seemed to be no recourse.

Mr Carter called my partner early one morning to acknowledge our complaint, and to advise that he would seek to have the matter addressed, although he did not believe anything could be done at this late stage to rectify the situation.

A further email was received by us from the senior building inspector, advising us that the project over the road was perfectly legal and that we would have to accept the situation as it is. He suggested a few trees here and there could be the answer.

DAVID GREIG
Mangonui