The Press WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1949. The Metropolitan Plan

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25878, 10 August 1949, Page 6

The Press WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1949. The Metropolitan Plan

The thoroughness with which the • Christchurch Metropolitan Planning • Committee has prepared its scheme for Greater Christchurch might not have compensated for the long time . it has taken were it not that the , local authorities concerned have for some years followed closely the ■ policies recommended by the comi mittee. In its finaj. report, made i public yesterday, the committee i estimates that two more years will • pass before its proposals can be • made statutory by the local authorii ties concerned; but if its recommen- > dation is adopted an interim control I committee will be set up to deal ! with town-planning questions that j will arise in the interval and, no i doubt, to see that the general priniciples laid down are followed uni- [ formly throughout the area. The administration of the final scheme, will be greatly simplified by the forthcoming reorganisation of local government in the Christchurch area. The “ single and indivisible “ social and economic unit ” for which the Metropolitan Committee and its subsidiaries have planned

will in fact be administered almost, if not completely, as a single local government area. Conscious of its important and expanding responsibilities in this direction, the City Council has recently appointed a town planning officer and is now building up an adequate town planning department. The co-operation of all the adjacent local bodies in the preparation of the scheme for the metropolitan area is an assurance that there will be no difficulty in obtaining conformity in those areas which will not pass under the control of the City Council. Considering that, until 1941, the best that Christchurch could hope for in town planning was a series of unrelated schemes covering the separate local body districts, the public has reason to be grateful for the comprehensive, long-term plan which is now before it for general discussion. The final report and recommendations differ little from the committee’s interim report, published in 1945, which was generally well received by the local bodies and by the public—not surprisingly, since the Metropolitan Planning Committee and its sub-committees have been representative of all sections of the community. The committee’s findings, as it empha-* sises, are no more than recommendations which “ must rely “ for their realisation on the “ enlightened self-interest and “ goodwill of the Government and “ interested local bodies and pro- “ perty owners ”. Its recommendations for the future use of land and building and population densities cannot be implemented until statutory town-planning schemes have been prepared and adopted by the local bodies; and the committee rightly underlines the need for the widest possible measure of agreement between local authorities and property owners. The latter will have ample opportunity to state any objections and to have them considered; but it is clear from several references in the report that the committee has sought to make the scheme as flexible as possible, while pursuing th< long-range policy it considers to be in the best interest of the city as a whole. The committee points out that while it has been possible to incorporate by far the greater number of existing land uses within the appropriate zones, there will still be “ a sub- “ stantial number ” of non-conform-ing commercial and industrial uses.

Provisions can be inserted in statutory town planning schemes for v the protection of non-conforming land uses and buildings [the report adds]. Although the community must have the right on payment of full compensation to require the removal of nonconforming uses at any time, the normal practice is to recognise the right of the owner to continue these uses so long as he does not do anything which would tend to ,’ncrease the degree of non-conformity. Cases may arise, however,. in which a restricted relaxation of this Underlying principle may be justified. The legal clauses, which are a component part of the statutory schemes, could allow a discretionary power to be exercised within restrictive limits.

Elsewhere the report deals with the customary power to grant dispensations on the ground of hardship and to amend the scheme in the light of changing circumstances. One of the most rooted objections to town planning has been the fear of rigidity in, administration. The report makes it clear that this fear is unfounded. At the same time, it rightly points out that town-plan-ning schemes are not adopted to thwart the wishes of the community. They are for the benefit and for the protection of the community. As many decisions of the City Council over the last few years have demonstrated, the danger to be guarded against in future is that exceptions and dispensations, oii one ground or another, may defeat the objects of an admirable and conscientiously-prepared scheme.