Wrecker's ball looms in Eke

A derelict house in Eketahuna that has been shedding roofing iron in high winds is likely to be demolished.
The Haswell Street house has been declared dangerous by Tararua District Council and the legal process of having it levelled has started.
Council plans to serve notice on the owner advising him that council believes the building is dangerous and needs to be demolished within 14 days of the notice being posted.
If this is not done, then council can apply to the district court for a demolition order. The latter course of action is more likely, as the address of the house owner is not known, the property is subject to a charging order by the Inland Revenue Department and rates on the house block and an adjoining section owned by the same man have been unpaid for several years.
Manager of Environmental Services Mike Brown said council has received several complaints of roofing iron separating from the old house during high winds and that repairs have had to be made at ratepayers' expense.
Nearly five years ago, Tararua District Council adopted a policy for dealing with dangerous and insanitary buildings that "in the ordinary course of events" are likely to cause injury or death by collapse or otherwise.
Mr Brown said there are plenty of judicial decisions to support classifying the house as dangerous.