Council seeks talks on airport planning report

Press, 9 November 1978, Page 7

Council seeks talks on airport planning report

The Canterbury Regional Planning Authority’s report on graded urban restraints! near Christchurch Airport; will not be approved as part* of the regional scheme until!

the City Council — the airport authority — is con-1 suited. The chairman of the; council’s public utilities! committee (Cr M. R. Carter)'

said the report was “full of inaccuracies,” such as the size of the airport’s annual income, that should be corrected. The airport director had been consulted, but Cr Carter said there had been no discussions with the authority itself. One of the report’s suggestions, that land-use planning on and around the airport site should be a joint responsibility of local, regional and Government bodies, was not acceptable, Cr Carter said. He had never seen anv evidence that urban sprawl towards the north-west had “rapidly diminished the distance between the urban and airport boundaries, thus endangering the present degree of airport freedom,” as the report suggested. “If that is correct, it at least warrants some discussion with the authority.” he said.

Cr Carter has been a consistent critic of the Regional Planning Authority. He said it was “utter rubbish” to say that some airport facilities, such as shops, did not make a substantial contribution to the airport’s role. They were all required to boost the airport’s viability.

Observations of noise levels near the airport did not seem to take into account that noisier Boeing 707 s and DCBs would be phased out

soon on Tasman runs. The report's main suggestion is a graded approach to limiting housing near the airport, from Templeton to Kaiapoi. based on noise annoyance, accident possibilities. and other factors.