New building a 'bloody eyesore'

BY SCOT MACKAY

An Invercargill resident is angry Environment Southland has built an "absolutely ugly" building 4m from the boundary of his section.

Russell Phillips said the regional council ripped up trees from its land behind his property and replaced them with its "ugly" new civil defence building without consultation with himself or other neighbours.

It was not a requirement to speak to neighbours, but he was annoyed the trees had been taken down and replaced with a view of office windows, he said.

"I think it's a bloody eyesore."

The building arrived at Environment Southland, in Price St, in February in five pieces and has since been put together in place of an old fence, trees and shrubbery.

The council had built a new 1.8m fence in place of the old one and had bought Mr Phillips new beach and ribbonwood trees as compensation to replace the ones that were removed from the council's property, he said.

But he was complaining because he did not want other residents to wake up one day and be in a similar situation.

"I appreciate what they are trying to do. I don't mind a building, but look at it, it's massive – all I want to do is have my say," he said.

Mr Phillips moved into his house about two years ago for retirement and liked the sound of birds at the back of his property, but decided he wanted to move again because the building was imposing and had removed all the birds, he said.

Environment Southland policy and planning manager Ken Swinney said the council was within Invercargill City Council regulations to put the 490sqm building there, while bushes and trees would be planted around the building within the next two or three months to make it aesthetically pleasing.

However, it would take a few years for them to grow, he said.

The new building has been placed at Environment Southland to centralise all civil defence actions for the region and will be formally opened on September 10.

- © Fairfax NZ News