R.P.A. seeks more control on houses

Press, 22 July 1976, Page 2

R.P.A. seeks more control on houses

The Canterbury Regional. Planning Authority “strongly" supports” the proposed han i by the Paparua County Council on the building of houses on rural-zone lots of less than 100 acies. but wants it to go further. The authority's regional planner, Mr F. S. Robinson told the council’s town-plan-ning hearings yesterday that the proposal to fix rural subdivision minima of 100, acres and 300 acres should reduce the division of farm l land into small holdings. He asked for stronger con-’ trols on the issue of building permits for new or replace- 1 ment houses. The council's permitted uses weakened control. "The authority's main ‘ objection is • to the per- ■ mitting of houses on lots, which are too small to be. farmed to best advantage, and thereby lead to even more widespread low-density i housing.” he said. To permit non-conforming house-- to be rebuilt once they had outlived their usefulness or had been des-: troyed also contributed toj the unnecessary- settlement of rural land, he said. Opportunity should be taken toy reduce the number of houses to those related to proper rural uses. Asked by members of 'he hearing committee if he had evidence to back up some of his claims, Mr Robinson said' his observations were "gen-i eralities.” The council’s proposed re-

striction on building drew 227 individual objections. Marty of the objectors claimed that to stop the building of houses on lots of 20 acres or less would be to diminish the productive capacity of the land and others said that family or partnership farming would be prevented, and that employees could not be housed on a farm. One objector said the aim appeared to be to stop people living in the country when it was a fundamental right for a person to choose where he would live and work.

Mr T. 1. Marks, a senior ; lecturer in rural valuation land farm management at i Lincoln College, said that before the council’s decision to increase section size, rural lots of 20 acres were selling for $20,000 to $45,000 depending on said quality. Values had doubled over! three year's, but since the council decision, sales had virtually ceased because of! the difficulty in getting a[ permit to build a house.! This effect, he considered, had reduced the 20-acre block price to between! $12,000 and $32,000.