NEW HOUSING AREAS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28984, 27 August 1959, Page 14

NEW HOUSING AREAS

Control* Sought By Committee

The prohibition of subdivisions in areas of the city which have no prospects of being connected to the sewer for some years and where ground conditions are unsuitable for septic tanks will be proposed to the City Council next Monday by its town planning committee. The proposal will be that subdivisions be prohibited where, on the advice of the Christchurch Drainage Board, sewers are not in sight, where the ground is unsuitable for septic tanks or where septic tanks could pollute the well water supplies.

At present the Drainage Board has to approve all plans for subdivision in its district, but its attention is directed mainly to, the height of sections and land for drainage and sewerage and it can require filling. The City Council also gets subdivision plans for approval, but in the past has been mainly concerned with the size of sections, roading and matters outside sewerage and drainage. i

Cr. W. L. F. Utley recently made a plea for some action against close housing settlement in areas where there was little prospect of the sewer being installed for a number of years. He said there were areas in the city and surrounding districts where epidemics had occurred because the ground was unsuitable for septic tanks and water became contaminated.

Generally, the city is supplied with high-pressure water and there is not the danger of contamination of water that occurs when wells are used; but there are still unsewered areas in the city where sewage seeps to the surface because of the ground conditions. In some areas outside the city where close housing settlement has taken place, doctors are concerned about the danger to health.

Cr. W. P. Glue, chairman of the town planning committee, hopes that if the council adopts the proposal it will be taken as an example and followed by other local bodies in the interests of public health.