Letters: Flood risk - it's not enough to say 'buyer beware'

Flooding clean-up in Ngongotahā. Photo / File

The revised proposal for a Special Housing Area at Ngongotahā seems to be major improvement.

The homes to be built in Stage 1 have been reduced to at least 27 and on land unlikely to be flooded. There are, however, serious unresolved problems.

Recent population and economic growth indicators have not been used to recalculate the scale of housing demand, especially for affordable housing.

Reliable flood modelling has not been completed by Bay of Plenty Regional Council engineers to safeguard potential homeowners in the revised SHA1 and current homeowners below the Waiteti bridge.

The council's resource consenting processes were proven inadequate by the April 29, 2018 flash flood and have yet to be reformed.

Appropriate infrastructure, such as roading, has not been provided or planned for Ngongotahā.

Stormwater modelling recommended by regional engineers has not been completed, nor mitigations developed to do with runoff and erosion, especially for the floodable properties below the Waiteti Bridge.

Ngāti Ngāraranui, mana whenua, has not been respected with authentic consultations. Their legitimate concerns include the recognition of Te Auputa o Te Toto and their kaitiakitanga responsibilities over the stream, preventing the potential flooding of homes below the Waiteti bridge, and clearing the accumulated silt and debris from the mouth of the Waiteti.

It is not enough to say "buyer beware". The council would have been wiser not to recommend that the Associate Minister Jenny Salesa gazette the SHA until these issues had been settled.

Reynold Macpherson
Mayoral candidate for Rotorua

Let's put this method behind us

As a tourist city we could teach the world a lesson in hygiene.

I refer to the way cafes and some restaurants deal with their chairs.

The usual method of cleaning the floor is to lift the padded chairs and place them upside down with the padded seat on the eating part of the table.

These chairs have been in contact for many hours with an assortment of posteriors, and goodness knows what has been passed on during this time.

Over a period of months I dread to think what has found its way onto the table.

Washing the tables down is not the answer - it is a disgusting habit and should be outlawed.

Alf Hoyle
Lynmore

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