Dumping station near Mill Domain approved
A DUMPING station proposed for a site near the entrance of Mill Domain at Palmerston will go ahead after it was approved by councillors this week.
Cr Jim Hopkins was the sole councillor who did not vote in favour of the proposal at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday after it was earlier recommended as the preferred option by the council’s asset committee.
The dumping station for caravans and camper vans has a budget of $120,000.
Most of that figure, $112,600, would be funded through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund and the remainder by the council.
The council originally planned the dumping station for a site at Goodwood Rd, but a public outcry forced it to consider other options.
In October, more than 20 residents met at the site to discuss their concerns, which led to a petition that was eventually signed by 68 residents.
That forced the council back to the drawing board, the result being 10 other options were considered.
The Mill Domain site, supported by the community after a brief consultation period, was recommended by council officers because the land was owned by the council, had an existing vehicle crossing, was a distance away from residential properties, had provision for toilets to be hooked up to an existing sewer line and was close to a water supply, among other factors.
In early February, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher told the Otago Daily Times the site ticked all the boxes as far as the council was concerned.
‘‘One of the things we wanted to achieve by having this near the central business area was so the people that use those facilities (the dumping station) would be tempted to spend a bit more money in the town.
‘‘We know towns with the facilities do see extra business from people with caravans and camper vans. I’m pleased that Palmerston will once again have a dump station and that puts it in a position for the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association to acknowledge Palmerston as a motor homefriendly town.’’