Railways Keeping Sockburn Land

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31235, 6 December 1966, Page 20

Railways Keeping Sockburn Land

“A complete racket,” said the chairman (Mr D. H. Warren), when the retiring Minister of Railways (Mr McAlpine), in a letter received by the Paparua County Council last night, said that the route proclaimed for the proposed Sockburn-Styx railway loop line should be retained.

Both the Paparua and Waimairi county councils have been trying to get the Railways Department to release industrial land tied to the proposed route. Two miles of the route were zoned industrial and six and a half miles rural, wrote Mr McAlpine. As it would be some time before the line would be built, the rural land

was leased on three-year terms. There was no interest in the industrial land, he said. The railways would encourage industry and it was desirable to have land available. There was no justification for the department to give up ownership of the land.

Cr. H. W. Bennett said the worst feature was the lack of information as to when the line would be built. Mr Warren said the council would not want to let the issue rest, and at his suggestion it was decided to discuss it at the January meeting.