Kaiapoi future debated

Press, 17 August 1978, Page 6

Kaiapoi future debated

Kaiapoi’s steady residen- j tial growth, and its future' direction, were debated at a Town and Country Planning Tribunal hearing at Christchurch yesterday. Several rural landowners north and east of the borough have appealed against the Rangiora District Council’s district scheme provisions that exclude their areas from urban develjopment. i Until now, much of Kaiapoi’s urban spread has bee planned to go south of the borough, in Eyre County. But representatives of north-east landowners said their proposals had not been considered sufficiently. It would take time to get projected sections on the market and a section shortage would occur in the meantime.

The Kaiapoi Borough Council agreed with part of the argument, but not the part that would create urban , zones north of Beach Road. Over all, the Borough [ Council agreed with the Rangiora Council’s district scheme objectives. “While some may feel [that because of the economic [downturn no further land is lequired in the Christchurch a T ea. let alone Kaiapoi, I can say from my investigations that already there is evidence in kaiapoi that a shortage of sections is in sight.” said Mr P. Yeoman, a consulting engineer for Davis, Ogilvie and Partners. The Rangiora District Council scheme recognised a “basic consensus” between local authorities, Government ' .partments and the Canterbury' Regional Planning Authority on Kaiapoi ■ growth, said Mr B. W.l Thompson, a planner for; Davie, Lovell-Smith and! Partners. That consensus said the! borough should grow to be-; tween 12,000 to 15,000 over the next 20 years in suitable! urban development areas. Kaiapoi’s water supply! land sewerage systems were'

I based on a population of 12,000. The consensus said growth should take place mostly in Eyre County, to the south, which already had a population of 1124 near the borough.

In comparison, population in the old Rangiora County near the borough had only grown from 147 to 261 between 1956 and 1976. The area south of Kaiapoi could produce up to 650 sections for 2250 people. The Kaiapoi Town Clerk (Mr R. N. McCabe) said his council considered that much of the area south of Beach Road, beyond the borough boundary and a plantation and sewage treatment area, was suitable for urban zoning. “The council realises, however, that there are important issues of adequate floodway and ponding areas,” Mr McCabe said, “that the soil type is of a good quality, and these two restraints may well dominate any decision as to the future zoning of the area.” Proposals for urban growth north of Beach Road were not favoured at this time. There were 240 sections m the borough subdivided but not yet built on, Mr McCabe added. On recent growth rates, that meant four or five years’ growth. The entire borough had a population capacity of about 7500, including provision for an increase of 1000 in older areas through redevelopment. That capacity could be achieved by 1995.