TOWN PLANNING.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20869, 31 May 1933, Page 10

TOWN PLANNING.

CHRISTCHURCH SCHEME ALMOST FINISHED. TV IDE SCOPE AND IMPORTANT PROVISIONS. A town planning scheme covering the city of Christchurch, which has been under preparation for the last six years, will be completed and placed before the Town Planning Committee of the City Council within the next two weeks. The scheme will provide in effect a new building code for the city; it will create residential, business, and heavy industrial areas, and will give the council power to prevent the erection in any of these areas of buildings which are not suited to its general character. There will still be a fairly long procedure to be followed before tin scheme iinally becomes law. After its adoption by the Town Planning Committee and the City Council it v/ill go forward to the Town Planning Board, a Government appointed body, which will provisionally approve it with or without amendments. The scheme will then be open to public inspection and public objection in Christchurch. Such objections as are made will be considered by the council and sent on to the Town Planning Board, which will if necessary hold an enquiry and take evidence before approving the proposals in their final form.

Scope of the Scheme. Although the preparatory work has covered a long period Christchurch will be among the first of the cities to formulate a scheme under the Town Planning Act (1926). The act declares that the following subjects are to be dealt with in town planning schemes: — (1) Roads, streets, private streets, etc., and the fixing of building lines. (2) Buildings, with particular reference to their position on allotment and in relation to any road or street or to other buildings; their density, character, height, and harmony in design of facades. (3) The reservation of land for afforestation purposes or for recreation grounds, ornamental gardens, parks, children's playgrounds, and other open spaces. (4) The preservation of objects of historical interest or natural beauty. (5) Systems of sewerage, drainage, and sewage disposal, (6) Systems of lighting and water supply. (7) The; definition of areas to be used exclusively or principally for specified purposes, or classes of purposes. * (8) Provision of amenities. ... (9) Ancillary or consequential works.

Regional Schemes. The Town Planning Amendment Act, 1929, provides for regional town planning schemes which may include land within the areas of more than one local authority. Every regional planning scheme is to have for its general purpose the conservation and economic development of the natural resources of the region to which it relates by means of the classification of lands according to the purposes for which they are best suited by nature or for which they can best be adapted. Provision is made for the co-ordin-ation of all public improvements, utilities, services, and amenities to this end. The subjects to be dealt with in regional schemes are:— (1) Communications and transport facilities—railways, first and second-class arterial and regional roads, omnibus and tram routes, harbours and navigable waterways, and airports. (2) Zoning—(a) Allocation of areas for (1) urban development, differentiating where possible among residential, business', and industrial areas with special reference to offensive trades; (2) agricultural purposes, specifying the particular form of land-utilisation recommended, including afforestation, (b) Recommendations as to building lines and the maximum height and bulk of buildings to be prescribed in the statutory town planning schemes within the region. (3) Public utilities—(a) Land drainage, sewerage, and sewage disposal; <b) water supply, including catchment areas; (c) electricity and gas generation and distribution. (4) Amenities—(a) Public parks and reserves and recreational facilities;' <b) preservation of places of historical or archaeological interest or natural beauty; <c) recommendations for the control of outdoor advertising. Protection for Citizens. The City Land Surveyor (Mr A. H. Bridge), who has had charge of the preparation of the scheme, said yesterday that the most important part of it from the public point of view was the zoning of Christchurch into residential, business, and heavy industrial areas. This did not necessarily involve the city in any expense, and it was a protection for citizens especially in preventing the intrusion of undesirable buildings or business interests into residential areas. At the present time there were certain fairly welldefined areas, but without a proper town planning scheme the council would have no power, to prevent shops and factories from being built in undesirable places where they would interfere with private residences. The actual definition of the heavy industrial area in Christchurch had yet to be decided, said Mr Bridge, but the other areas were fairly easily determined. Under the provisions of the Town Planning Act the City Council had power to refuse a permit for the erection of any building for any purpose not in accordance with the zoning proposals. Provision for Economies. Mr. Bridge emphasised that town planning did not involve the city in any expenditure. It provided for the growing needs of the community and ensured that those needs were met in the most economical manner. Zoning enabled substantial economies to be made to tb» «ofwtouctioß of streets and.

their subsequent maintenance. It also did away with the expense of purchasing land for street widening, since streets of 50ft width had been proved ample for residential areas, and greater' widths were necessitated only by the erection of business buildings in those areas. General amenities, were a strong feature of town planning. Among the important subjects dealt with were the architecture and materials of buildings, to ensure uniformity; the beautification of river banks and waste spaces; and the elimination of overhead wires, unsightly fences, and hoardings in residential areas and rural districts. An attractive city, he stated, induced a greater population and assisted in the stabilisation of property values. There was also protection for the individual ratepayer in so far as the value of his property was safeguarded. This aspect should be of interest to mortgagees and financial lending institutions. "A Planned City." A proof of the city's progress towards the adoption of town planning was the fact that all applications coming before the Town Planning Committee had been dealt with according to the scheme it had in view, so that Christchurch was already becoming unconsciously a planned city. Mr Bridge mentioned that every person interested in or affected by the provisions of the scheme would have the right of objection, and his objection would be investigated by the Town Planning Board before the scheme was finally approved. The council was bound by the board's decision on such appeals, so that the individual ratepayer was fully safeguarded.