PD online letter from neighbour holds untrue information. Should we do something?

Noticed on PDOnline yesterday a letter from a neighbour making statements about some fill we put into the yard nearly 20 years ago.

The facts in this letter are wrong on many points. In particular it links another problem we had with the stormwater on the block to this event, when the plumber said the stormwater pipes had been blocked for many years. We ran new pipes and fixed the problem, but I don't like that these two things are now linked in a document that can be searched if there is ever a problem with drainage on the block. I've typed up a correct version and timeline.

Clearly council has not taken much notice of the letter because it has not stopped approval, but my concern is that this document is now on the public record, and is quite wrong on detail and implications to their block (though the general story is correct).

To cover ourselves going forward from any future claim of "this was caused by what they did 20 years ago", should we do anything? We could sign a stat dec. Should we lodge our own rebuttal letter, putting the facts straight, to be lodged and placed on the pdonline file and always available as a rebuttal.

I'd like RPI's idea of how to deal with this, and more than happy to pay for a lawyer to advise us if necessary... Darryl?

 

I don't believe I can ask them to withdraw the statement. It is their "truth" but it is wrong.

I'm thinking more along the lines of putting something in statement form, a stat dec perhaps and either ensuring it goes in with the other objections or getting legal advice now just in case something goes wrong with the build and the drainage, and they try to pin it on us.

It is common sense that the stormwater pipes overflowing over the ground is a small part of the general water running down the side of a hill in any storm, especially on large blocks. But they already once tried to blame our roof water for causing their stumps to be unstable. We have six houses uphill and we have stumps too. I'm not thinking of blaming the up hill house next door for anything.

Every house on the hill is 1930s and I reckon all the stormwater pipes would be cracked and/or blocked long ago.

My concern is our neighbours did a major renovation and their downhill neighbour called in council trying to pin the drainage on the new renovation as the cause for the mould under their highest brick house (1940s).

Council told them that mould had clearly been growing there for many years and they had no case. But I don't want to be dragged into anything like at and prefer to cover our backsides now.

 

Thanks Darryl. Will do that.