South Dunedin residents say they have been blindsided by proposed property acquisitions which they fear will ‘‘condemn’’ the suburb. Property acquisitions are included in each of the three shortlisted proposals to manage long-term flood risk in the suburb, which the Dunedin City and Otago Regional Councils released today. Protect, restore, reshape: The options for South D Imagery for each option, developed through the councils’ joint South Dunedin Future programme, indicated areas in and around the suburb where private property might be bought for public works intended to benefit the community, such as the creation of basins, canals or raised land. City council climate adaptation and resilience manager Jonathan Rowe stressed no decision had been made but, depending on the shortlisted option, between 1100 and 1700 of South Dunedin’s 6500 properties could be affected. Areas of potential acquisition were indicative only, but residents were not aware of their property’s status, Mr Rowe said. He anticipated they would be informed through a proposed consultation process which, subject to council approval, would start next month. South Dunedin Stormwater Justice Group convener Lynne Newell was horrified to learn her home was one proposed for purchase. She said she was appalled information on potential acquisitions was released without the affected community first being alerted. ‘‘They're condemning South Dunedin,’’ she said. ‘‘They should never, ever have released this to the public until they've consulted with the people of South Dunedin themselves.’’ South Dunedin was swamped during a major flood in 2015. Photo: ODT files Group member Julian Doorey said he was concerned identifying possible areas of acquisition would ‘‘destroy’’ local housing markets. ‘‘It's a betrayal and a lack of justice.’’ Mr Rowe said consultation was intended to determine community appetite for change compared with flood risk. ‘‘Those are the trade-offs we're trying to flush out in these conversations.’’ City councillor Jo Galer said she believed councils had ‘‘jumped the gun’’ and was concerned about the welfare of affected residents. ‘‘They're really, really unhappy, in particular [about] the identification of their homes.’’ In emails seen by the Otago Daily Times, city council chief executive Sandy Graham and regional council chief executive Richard Saunders both said their respective organisations were following the agreed communications plan, in line with briefings to councillors last week. Cr Galer’s concerns were echoed by fellow city councillor Russell Lund, who said it was ‘‘beyond belief that council considers it acceptable or ethical’’ to inform South Dunedin residents of the proposals through the media. ruby.shaw@odt.co.nz
