A group of residents has been left feeling invisible after Ōpōtiki District Council turned down a contractor s offer to help seal their road because councillors thought no-one lived on it.
Delta Contracting s gravel screening operation on Amokura Rd has been praised by its neighbours.
Photo: Charlotte Jones / LDR
The decision to decline Delta Contracting s offer to partly fund the work has left a sour taste for the contractor and the residents.
Councillors refused the offer, against staff advice, as they believed no one lived on Amokura Rd and the contractor was only offering to partly fund the sealing to manage dust and gain its resource consent.
However, there are three homes on the road and Delta Contracting director Paul Blennerhassett said the offer was only intended to be a goodwill gesture. He said sealing the road offered no advantage to his gravel screening operation. “I’ve worked closely with council since 2011 and it was hurtful to see some of the comments that were made,” he said. “I get on well with the staff but some of the comments made by elected members really didn’t need to be said. If the road is sealed or unsealed, there’s no impact on us. This was really meant to be a goodwill gesture for the residents of the road.”
SunLive - Residents angry council turns down road seal offer sunlive.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sunlive.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.