By TREVOR MACKAY news@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
Illegal dumping of cars and rubbish is costing Wanganui ratepayers "about $60,000 a year."
That's the figure Wanganui District Council general inspector Clive Whitham yesterday put on the dumping. The dumping is also a concern to Wanganui chief fire officer Kevin Smith, who said Fire Service resources were
tied up when they could be required at an emergency.
Mr Whitham confirmed that council arranged for disposal of dumped and burnt out cars.
"It's a cost to the ratepayer," he said. That cost was about $60,000 a year, although the figure varied.
The Fire Service or police advised council of the dumping, and towing firms had the vehicles picked up.
Vehicles burnt out on South Beach averaged about two a week. Mr Smith said calls to derelict vehicles had averaged one a month over the past 12 months.
"They have been dumped and then set on fire. "The problem often is access (at South Beach). They tow them in and we have difficulty with access and pulling them out.
"It ties up our resources when they could be used or required at an emergency and it delays our resources. "They are a nuisance value fire. We have to take our own water."
Mosquito Point was also a common dumping place. "Perhaps there should be an amnesty for people to dump cars at a special place, which may alleviate this problem."
It had to be a cost to somebody for vehicles to be removed. Vehicles were taken to areas, trashed and played with, and then set on fire.
The Fire Service had attended to a burnt out vehicle just past Mosquito Point yesterday morning.
"It's a classic example of what we are up against." There had been no registration plate on the last five or six occasions when the Fire Service had attended. The incident yesterday was an exception and police were handling the matter.
