City hostel shuts doors

For more than 20 years a Palmerston North Salvation Army hostel has accommodated men, but now its doors are closed.

The hostel on Lockhart Ave in Milson was shut down due to a lack of funding and difficulties meeting health and safety requirements.

No more men will be allowed to stay on the premises.

A former resident from another Salvation Army site, who did not want to be named, said the experience over the past six weeks, since the closure was announced had been ‘‘unnerving’’. But he had now found alternative accommodation and was pleased to have some certainty.

‘‘I’m a bit happier now than I was a few weeks ago.’’

Lieutenant Colonel Lynette Hutson, Salvation Army national manager of addiction and supported accommodation services, confirmed the reduction of 12 beds at the hostel’s main building site.

The Salvation Army has two houses in Milson and one in Cloverlea, all owned by Housing New Zealand. It provided hostel accommodation for people coming out of prison, drug and alcohol addiction and detoxification programmes.

The Cloverlea site, with five beds, is to stay open.

She said the reduction in accommodation resulted from a restructure and realignment process, meeting safety and financial obligations, as well as a lack of money.

All 12 former residents have since been helped into alternative accommodation and The Salvation Army would continue to offer support and services to those in need, she said.

She said she realised it has been a challenging time for some of the men, but their wellbeing was at the forefront of their minds.

‘‘We said we wouldn’t exit the building until all of the men were safe. It’s a fantastic result.’’

She said Housing New Zealand owned the building, and its future lay with them.

The former resident said he was expecting to move into a secure Housing New Zealand property within the next few weeks.

He said at first the news of the closure was unsettling.

‘‘It was the last thing we were expecting. The hostel has been up and running for about 20 odd years.’’

But now that the end was in sight, he said it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He said he had no complaints with how the situation was handled, and was looking forward to shifting into his new home.

The Milson house had attracted concerns from neighbours in the past. The Milson Community Group had also asked for tighter controls on the setting up of ‘‘community houses’’ in the District Plan. Drinking water in the Tararua District has been a contentious issue in recent months.

Over summer the council imposed water restrictions to conserve levels.

Residents in Woodville have raised concerns over their ‘‘vile’’ and ‘‘mouldy’’ drinking water, and a contaminated water supply in a Hawke’s Bay town has heightened concerns. But all five mayoral contenders claim the Tararua District is on track to ensuring residents have clean water in their homes and rivers.

Tararua District councillor Shirley Hull said the increase in testing drinking water in Tararua since the gastro bug incident in Hawke’s Bay was a prudent precaution.

Hull said she was dedicated to ensuring the council remained part of the Manawatu River Accord. She said work done through the accord was improving the conditions of rivers. She was also supportive of further investigations of land-based discharge, which was a preferred option for many iwi.

Dannevirke businessman Allan Benbow said he supported the treatment of all water supplies for communities within the district to reduce the risk of bacterial infection.

The only council-provided water supplied throughout the greater Manawatu region that are not yet chlorinated are in Pahiatua and Norsewood. Benbow said while the ideal may be to have pure, untreated water, all communities’ supplies should be treated. He said the completion of upgrading the district’s wastewater systems and maintaining and improving the environment were vital issues.

Contractor Ernie Christison said water should be the first priority for any council. His own concerns lay with water shortage in Dannevirke. He said the town‘s water shortages resulted from a lack of maintenance at the town’s number two reservoir. He believed water staff needed to be retained in the area, rather than contracting out work.

Tararua District councillor Tracey Collis said work was under way to ensure residents in Pongaroa had council supply of water that met Ministry of Health standards. Meanwhile, steps were being taken to improve Woodville drinking water as storage was being re-shaped, lined and covered to improve quality.

Farmer Kay Mckenzie wanted to reassure community members that significant improvements were being achieved as a result of the Manawatu River Leaders Accord. She was supportive of the plans and schemes taking place in the district, including the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord, nutrient management plans and environmental farm plans.

These plans targeted rivers and streams to ensure sustainable land use was being achieved, she said.