Remember When

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2006

More than 30 Currumbin Hill homeowners were sent warnings about stability risks and stormwater drainage problems as the Gold Coast City Council washed its hands of liability.

While the council conceded there were safety issues in homes which it approved despite warnings about landslips, homeowners will have to foot the repair bill.

Area councillor Chris Robbins said 29 ‘show cause’ notices would be sent to residents highlighting stormwater drainage issues and problems with retaining walls.

Two homeowners had already received letters warning their houses were ‘dangerous and unfit for occupation’.

“These notices are about advising people … there may be issues that impact upon safety,’’ said Cr Robbins.

“It’s the homeowner’s obligation to properly dispose of their h i stormwater.’’ t ’’

Mayor Ron Clarke said the council would improve the area’s stormwater drainage capabilities but could not do work on private land.

“When you build a house, you hire your own experts,’’ he said. “If the house falls down, it’s their responsibility, their designs.

“We do a lot of checks but in the end it’s a private property.’’

With homes teetering on the edge of the hill after a landslip in June 2005, The Bulletin revealed in the first of its two ‘Badlands’ reports that the council was warned in 1959 the land was unstable.

A follow-up, Badlands II, detailed the plight of those who had built on 12 other areas listed as unstable.

The blitz of council warnings to residents came this week after independent geotechnicians found problems with more than half the 50 homes surveyed in the landslip zone.

About 900 homes in total are dotted over Currumbin Hill.

Cr Robbins said it was unclear where stormwater run-off was going, with the likelihood it was seeping into the ground, weakening it.

The council also has concerns about the stability of retaining walls and whether some stormwater was being filtered onto neighbouring land.

Currumbin task-force member Kevin Harris said the council was unfairly washing its hands of the problem.

“They were the approving body. At the end of the day the council were the ones that signed off on it all – I don’t think they can absolve themselves of responsibility.’’

Cr Robbins said remedial work would be done on council land in the area, with a pipe planned for the bottom of the hill to accept the extra stormwater.

She said the council was not concerned with liability but with getting the area safe.