Two councils asked for contributions

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32860, 8 March 1972, Page 11

Two councils asked for contributions

The Heathcote and Eyre county councils, which refused to contribute to the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority’s expenditure on a second transport survey, were yesterday asked to reconsider.

Otherwise, the authority’s executive committee said, the authority’s other constituent councils would be asked to accept a proportionate share of the refused contribution'.

The decision was made after the authority had heard from the Minister of Works (Mr Allen) that he had no power to vary the maximum contribution rate provided in the Town and Country Planning Act. “I feel sure that the Heathcote County Council will appreciate that along with the five-yearly review of district schemes it is reasonable that as a basis of orderly planning transport planning be similarly reviewed,” the Minister wrote.

“This is, I believe, the purpose of your authority’s traffic study, which the Heathcote council opposes in the belief that there is duplication of effort and cost. I can but again emphasise that the type of information your authority will derive from the study will not be covered by the national study and that each study will provide in its own right much useful information . . .”

The chairman (Mr D. B. Rich) said that a meeting should be held of all local bodies to discuss the contribution. He had seen that the Paparua County Council would not contribute beyond the statutory limit of l/120c in the $. The two counties’ refusal to contribute towards the cost of the transport study also affected the authority’s preliminary draft of its estimates.

These were put at $147,781, with $53,900 for traffic, and

the executive committee said it seemed certain that the amount wanted from constituent local bodies would be greater than the authorised contribution.