Land slip a matter for owners and EQC

MAJOR SLIP: A slip at the top of Wallis Road is causing concern for home owners in the area. In 2015 the house at 1 Wallis Road had to be demolished. Picture by Liam Clayton

THE issues around housing risks from a slip on Gisborne District Council land at the top of Wallis Road on Kaiti Hill are for consideration between the Earthquake Commission and the residents of Wallis Road, a council spokeswoman said today.

Residents in the area said earlier in the week that the land started moving again in recent weeks following heavy winter rain.

In 2015, the house at 1 Wallis Road had to be demolished in 2015 because of the slip and land stability issues.

New large crevices have opened in the ground at the top of the hill and mud is flowing on to Kaiti Beach at the bottom of the slip.

Acting director environmental services and protection Lois Easton said council officers had monitored this land movement since subsidence affected the bordering property at 1 Wallis Road in 2014.

“Engineering assessments by Tonkin and Taylor for the Earthquake Commission at the time determined that the landslide is a naturally-occurring failure and that the area is on a fault line.”