After taking a range of independent advice, New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) considered and recommended Qingshi Chen and Jenny Zhang’s request that Council part fund work to address land subsidence occurring at their Waiwera Place property in New Plymouth, be declined, at a meeting of Mayor and Councillors on 7 March.

The Council has been proactively working with the family and monitoring the site since the initial slip in July 2022, including regular onsite inspections.

It understands the ongoing land slippage has caused considerable stress to the family.

Records make it clear that the land subsidence at the rear of this property has been a known and publicly documented issue for more than two decades.

Council was essentially asked to determine where the line between public liability and private loss should be drawn in a situation where the land subsidence was a natural event and previous land stability issues have been clearly identified within the property’s Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report.

The Council also had to consider that it owns and operates more than 700 hectares of parks and reserves adjacent to thousands of properties, therefore ratepayer equity is a key consideration.

We determined that a decision to provide a financial contribution, while meeting the interests of the family affected in this case, would be financially unsustainable for ratepayers.

Council is committed to cleaning the privately owned fan drains which EQC (Earthquake Commission) funded for previous residents and will provide access to the Reserve for construction purposes, should the affected landowners choose to undertake the proposed works provided they do not create a hazard or ongoing liability for Council.

Neil Holdom, Mayor of the New Plymouth District.

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