Civil Defence building to stay in town

Last minute change of location saves dollars.

A former Civil Defence Building next to the Tairua Hall has been taken to the tip – but it will be put to good use housing reusable goods from the Refuse Transfer Station.

The council’s original plan after liaison with the Tairua-Pauanui Community Board was to move the small civil defence building from behind the Tairua Hall to the Ferry Landing Cemetery at Whitianga for use as a sexton shed.

However when the quotes were received for moving the building it was found to be much more costly than anticipated.

The council also needed a storage shed at the Tairua Transfer Station for housing reusable items recovered from the waste stream and TCDC Operations Manager Greg Hampton says it was decided the building would be suitable for that purpose.

It is envisaged that the building will become a mini version of Thames’ successful Seagull Centre. The centre - run by The Seagull Centre Trust to support moves toward zero waste - retrieves reusable products from landfill and sells them at affordable prices.

“We’re still in the early stages of setting it up but it will operate as a resource recovery centre that members of the public will be able to access,” he says.

TCDC Community Services Manager John Rich says although it was not the original plan for the building, it was more cost-effective to re-locate the civil defence building elsewhere within Tairua – particularly when a money-saving opportunity presented itself.

“A house removal firm that happened to be in town on another job ensured we could move the building to the transfer station instead for a fraction of the cost of building a new one there,” he says.

“So we recycled a building and put it to good use, and saved the ratepayers some money in the process.”