New stopbank takes out property

A section of stopbank along Blenheim’s Taylor River is getting an upgrade to bring it up to ‘‘modern standard’’.

The Marlborough District Council is reconstructing the stopbank close to the High St bridge, between Beaver Rd and High St.

Council rivers and drainage engineering manager Geoff Dick said it was part of a long-term plan to ensure the stopbank was up to scratch and did its job properly.

‘‘They are not exactly what we would call up to modern, wellmaintained standards.

‘‘Let’s say this, they’ve had a fair bit of wear and tear. I mean these are stopbanks that are 50, 60, 70-years-old,’’ he said.

While the stopbanks posed no flood risk to properties, Dick said it was about strengthening the bank.

The council purchased land from the owner of 220 High St about 12 months ago and was working on shifting the stopbank forward towards the river.

A spokesperson would not say how much the land was purchased for as it was commercially sensitive.

‘‘If you go up to that site now you’ll see there’s a large area of flat land that looks as though it’s part of the reserve but it’s got a white fence with nails around on the top of it.

‘‘Once we’re all finished, the stopbank will take up part of that paddock because that’s the 1000 square metres we’ve bought,’’ Dick said.

Dick said purchasing this section would open up more space in the reserve for users.

‘‘All that fence with the white nails on top will disappear and it will just become part of the reserve,’’ he said.

Dick said some of the trees would be saved, however the large oak tree on the corner of the property would be removed because it was in line with where the stopbank was going.

The stopbank would also be improved in other areas along the Taylor River, including along Nelson St near Beaver Rd and Hiley St where the stopbank ran through two properties.

The section of stopbank down Lee St was also an area of interest, however Dick said the council needed to speak with property owners about how they would go about improving its condition.

Dick wasn’t able to offer a timeline as to when the different sections would be worked on.

Where the stopbank was within private properties, owners had often modified the bank by planting trees or parking vehicles on it which weakened its structure.

The southern section of track along the river between High St and Beaver Rd would be closed for up to a month during daylight hours.

‘‘It’ll only be closed when we’re carting trucks in and out ... We can’t have people walking, cycling or pushing prams along that piece of pathway while we’ve got sixwheeler trucks [there],’’ Dick said.