Plantation hearing stumped for quorum

Press, 3 August 1976, Page 1

Plantation hearing stumped for quorum

The most important Christchurch City Council report of the year—on possible uses of the Bottle Lake plantation—ran into a snag yesterday. Not enough parks and recreation committee members were on hand to make a quorum, and the committee could not make any recommendations on the report. The committee chairman (Cr Peter Skellerup) said it was the first time he had experienced such a situation in nearly 20 years on the council. He rescheduled the meeting for Friday. Earlier in the meeting, the committee had just enough members for a quorum. But before the Bottle Lake debate had a chance to get very far, the Mayor (Mr Hamish Hay) and Cr Peter Blaxall had to leave for a meeting of the social services committee.

Only one apology had been received, from Cr Mollie Clark.

That left only Crs Skellerup, Peter Dunbar, and Nancy Sutherland to vote on any issue, not enough for a quorum. Cr Sutherland was also anxious to attend the social services meeting. Cr Helen Garrett was present, but she is not a committee member.

Before the meeting was adjourned, Crs Dunbar, Blaxall, and Garrett said they were not sure the council should act to protect the entire plantation for forestry and recreation before meetings with property developers and other local authorities.

Mr Hay said council officer figures and those of private developers on the feasibility of residential development were almost completely different. “We trust this is a definitive and factual document,” said the General Manager and Town Clerk (Mr J. H. Gray). Much of the report had been pre-

pared before the latest proposals by private developers, and it was not intended as a rebuttal to their figures. He said that protecting the forest at this stage would not put the land in the category of Hagley Park. An act of Parliament would not be needed to change the classification.

But Cr Skellerup was firm in his belief that the plantation should be preserved.

“There is nothing to preclude the council from moving the plantation further away from the city in the future, if that is needed,” he said. “But it is not needed now. There is still a tremendous amount of land in the metropolitan area suitable for housing.

“Frankly, I regard the forest as an open air space the city has an obligation to preserve.”

See Page 21