Urlwin Seeks To Go In Residential Area

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30856, 15 September 1965, Page 1

Urlwin Seeks To Go In Residential Area

Urlwin Industries, Ltd., asked yesterday to be allowed to build a staff amenities block and dispatch department on residential B land fronting Hume Street; and Mr J. Urlwin, the chairman of directors, said that if it became necessary to move the factory from the present area it was probable that it would have to go to the North Island.

The application for a departure from the City Council’s district planning scheme to permit the development was made to the town planning appeal panel, which also heard objections from three Hume street residents.

Asked by Cr. H. E. Denton whether he was serious in his threat to move, Mr Urlwin said it was no threat, but a statement of fact.

Mr Urlwin said the area zoned industrial B was sufficient to contain the floor space required to rebuild the factory. but because of the need to combine the new building with the building that remained after the fire and lay out the factory for efficient working. the area of clear land toned for industry was insufficient for replacement of the building destroyed. Building Line If the staff amenities and cafeteria block and the dispatch department could be built on the adjoining land zoned residential B the whole of the factory’s building line on the frontages to Waltham road, Austin street, and Hume street could be set back. The staff amenities would include a car park. All building would be set back, a strip of land in Austin street would be dedicated for road widening. and the surroundings would be set out in landscaped gardens. Land zoned industrial B faced across Waltham road and Austin street to residences in a residentially-zoned area, and likewise faced residential land in Hume street. Under the present zoning the houses had to face towards a factory building, but if the buildings were set back as pro-

posed the space from the street line could be landscaped in lawns and gardens, and the outlook would be greatly improved. Traffic for the factory formerly used the Waltham road entrance, but under the new proposal the dispatch department would be in Hume street and 40 feet back from the street line. This meant that the concentration of traffic in Waltham road would be eliminated. Cars belonging to staff were at present parked on the streets, particularly Austin street. Mr Urlwin continued The proposed use would provide for parking and relieve traffic congestion. “A considerable number of residents in the Waltham area obtain their livelihood at the factory, and it is in the public interest that the factory should remain in that area and that it should be permitted to provide staff amenities and working conditions of a high standard.” he said. It would be against the public interest if an industry providing employment for about 200 had to move to the North Island. “Essential” The factory had been established in the Waltham area for many years and was in a highly competitive field. It was essential for efficient management that the premises be laid out so there could be the highest working efficiency, and this included the provision of staff amenities.

Though it would be possible to obtain the same floor space

as was destroyed by fire within the confines of the industrial zone, a factory could not be operated efficiently within those limits, nor could it give up part of the area for setting back the buildings. To Cr. W. P. Glue, Mr Urlwin said the factory was not suitable for another storey. It would be inordinately expensive to build and inefficient to run. To Cr. Denton, Mr Urlwin said that many years before the fire tentative plans had been drawn up for the movement of the cable plant and its subsidiary to the North Island.

To the chairman (Cr. G. D. Griffiths), he said it would be uneconomic to run the cable factory in Christchurch and an appliance factory in the North Island.

Miss N. Northcroft, a townplanning consultant, who gave evidence of the plans, said to Cr. Griffiths that the ratio of parking areas provided was reasonably satisfactory for a factory in the centre of a town. Objections Mr N. R. Morgan, who appeared for one of the objectors, Mr W. H. Fright, who lives at 18 Hume street, said the factory would detract from the established amenities of the area and set a precedent for further encroachment of industry. If the spot zoning for industry were increased there could be no guarantee that by acquiring further residential properties the company would not increase its expansion. Mr Morgan submitted that the company should be required to adhere to its original plan, and said an obvious solution was to erect a twostorey building. Although many of the houses in the area were old, there had been residential redevelopment and 29 new homes had been built in the area in the last seven years. “Lot Of Noise” Another objector, Mr A. S. Banbury, of 17 Hume street, said that when he bought his home four years ago the factory closed between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.; now it was working until 11.30 p.m. and a lot of noise was made. Mr C. H. Ryder, of 13 Hume street, complained that his comparatively new brick house would lose value if the factory were built closer to it. He also complained of noise trouble and difficulty in keeping washing clean. Mr J. R. Woodward, as counsel for the company, said it was not the only industry in the area. There was a cluster of factories ther n If the company were allowed to transpose its dispatch department and amenities block to residential land the wh< e area could be set back and it would be a far better neighbour than a double-storey factory building. Markets Urlwins had grown up in Christchurch and there was a sentimental attachment, Mr Woodward said, but it was established that factories moved close to their markets, and if it could not function efficiently on the land available then the industry might be forced to move.

To Mr Banbury, Mr Urlwin said the company had let a contract for the shell of a building on the industrial land. That did not tie it to the site, but it ensured that at least there would be a factory there instead of vacant land which would be no use to anyone.

Cr. Griffiths said the panel would make a recommendation to the council through the town-planning committee.