Rugby Club Seeking To Extend Its Rooms

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32234, 28 February 1970, Page 12

Rugby Club Seeking To Extend Its Rooms

An application by the Albion Rugby Football Club for permission to extend its clubrooms at 42 Lochee Road by the addition of a squash court, dressing sheds, games room and upstairs hall was heard by a planning subcommittee of the Waimairi County Council yesterday. The committee—comprising Cr? R. C. Neville (ehairnjan), 1. Calvert and D. B. Rich — will make a recommendation to the council later. The council planning officer (Mr R. M. Parker), said the proposal was to extend the clubrooms by about 3900 sq. ft This would give twostorey coverage of 37.3 per cent of the site, and would reduce the parking space available. Mr G. H. Tilson, president of the Albion Club, said that apart from the single squash court, the proposal was the same as one which the county council had previously approved. When it first built the clubrooms, the club had lacked the finance to complete them and had proceeded with a modified plan. When the club had reached a position where it could complete the original plan, it had found that changing regulations had made the council’s earlier approval void. In 1964, when the Waimairi County Council allocated the land at 42 Lochee Road to the Albion Club, the club had 11 teams, said Mr Tilson. In March, 1967, it had 14 teams in all grades, and last year it had 27 teams, 16 of them in under 7st grades. The club had about 750 members. To Cr Neville, Mr Tilson

said that other parking space was now available nearby, and 30 to 40 spaces would still be available on the club site. The Ministry of Transport said it had no objection to the application, and an “advisory” letter from the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority also appeared to raise no objection. Cr Rich said he was not quite sure what the purpose of the letter was. An objection to the building of a squash court was received by letter from Mr R. H. Hansen, of 51 Hamilton Avenue, on the ground that the court would result in noise and disturbance.