The Dunedin City Council could sell residential land it owns at Allanton and use the money to subsidise a new sewerage system for the village, a residents' group has suggested.
The council wants a sewerage system installed in Allanton to replace septic tanks, an estimated 20% of which are not functioning properly. It has suggested two options, a standard reticulated system and a small bore version.
Residents were supportive of the installation of a scheme, Colin Ferguson, spokesman for the Allanton Residents' Committee, said yesterday.
But he said if the current 100 or so property owners were asked to fully fund it, the cost could be between $51,000-$160,000 per property over 20 years.
That would be a huge burden, he said, particularly for residents on limited incomes.
Some residents had already said they would have to sell up and move because they would be unable to pay.
Residents wanted the council to spread the cost across all city ratepayers via the drainage targeted rate, Mr Ferguson said.
‘‘There are avenues open to council to alleviate the cost... For example the council owns land, including a block of 18 1000sq m sections, which could presumably be sold and the proceeds of the sale contributed to a [sewerage] scheme. Future developers could be required to contribute to any scheme implemented now.''
Residents wanted further investigations and discussions into what sewerage system would be most appropriate and the best method of paying for it, he said.
All options needed to be discussed in detail with residents ‘‘so that we can make a decision together'', he said.
