An Invercargill business owner living in limbo over access to his property finally has an answer — right as he’s selling up.

Grant Heatherington runs a business on the outskirts of the city which crushes oyster shells for bird owners.

The outfit has been running for almost 70 years and is the sole occupant of Station Rd, off Bluff Highway.

But Heatherington says question marks have hung over access to his business, Bluff Oyster Shell, since he took over five years ago.

The issue centres on a railway level crossing near the entrance to Station Rd.

Invercargill City Council proposed removing the crossing, even though it would have cut access to the main road.

That was because a new crossing was in the works as part of a nearby roundabout project at Elles Rd/State Highway 1, and KiwiRail impose restrictions on crossing numbers.

Heatherington said he began arranging alternate access from a neighbouring freight business after the council led him to believe Station Rd’s access would be closed without question.

At first he was open to the change, but challenges began to present themselves including a locked gate, weekend access and potential issues with number plate recognition technology.

Cutting the road off would have impacted pickups and deliveries for the business, he said, plus emergency service access.

“And if Station Rd is going to be closed, there’s no point in sending vehicles to 40 Station Rd. So I had no address.”

Ultimately, Heatherington was informed by the council this month [June] that the crossing would stay following an agreement from KiwiRail.

But he remains upset at how the council has handled the situation.

“I do feel that there is a lack of remorse from council regarding the matter, even a sorry for the misunderstanding would have done,” he wrote in a terse letter to the organisation.

Council group manager infrastructure Erin Moogan said it was originally understood from discussions with Heatherington that access from the nearby property was suitable.

"This process was abandoned when Mr Heatherington raised concerns about the alternative access, and further consultation with NZTA enabled the Station Road level crossing to remain in place," Moogan said.

Heatherington’s feedback had been noted for future council projects, she said.

The council said the road off the new roundabout — which created the additional crossing — was yet to open.

Access changes to Station Rd were first considered in 2018.

Bluff Oyster Shell has recently sold with Heatherington saying he'd significantly improved the operation since taking over.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air

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