New Zealand drug addiction centre plans abandoned

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by Change | 24 Feb 2010

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Hawkes Bay District Health Board has abandoned plans for a new drug addiction centre in the Mahora suburb of Hastings.

Plans for a new alcohol and drug addiction facility in the Hawkes Bay region of New Zealand's North Island have been thrown out after an appeal from local residents.

The local council in Hastings had approved the proposed drug addiction treatment centre, which was due to be built in the Mahora suburb, in August 2009, Radio New Zealand reports.

Designed to accommodate up to 20 people, the alcohol and drug addiction centre would have provided help to those in need of addiction support while a nearby facility was upgraded.

Napier's Springhill addiction centre, the primary facility of its kind in the region, is currently undergoing a two-year renovation programme, leaving vulnerable substance abusers with a lack of treatment and support facilities.

Mahora residents had long opposed the plans and took their fight to the Environment Court. It is understood that Hawkes Bay District Health board, the organisation behind the addiction facility, abandoned the plans because of the lengthy and potentially costly hearing process.

New Zealand has established its own National Drug Policy, which aims to limit and control the availability of illegal substances in the country.

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