$50,000 medical centre proposed for Akaroa

Press, 2 July 1979, Page 7

$50,000 medical centre proposed for Akaroa

The Akaroa County Coun-i cil will seek public opinion bn a proposed medical! centre for Akaroa. It will' explain the idea in a circular 1 to ratepayers within the ! next month. A committee set up to in-i vestigate the matter hasi recommended a 850,000' centre in front of the; present doctor’s surgery. • "We need the feeling and backing of ratepayers before we proceed." Cr A. J. 80-i revn has told a council meet-1 Ing. Akaroa’s doctor, Dr G. M.i Patrick, says that his present rooms are too small.

The committee, set up three months ago to canvass community opinion and draft plans, has come up with a basic SOO sq ft building containing a waiting room, two Consulting rooms, a doctor’s room, a nurse’s office, and toilets.

Cr Boleyn, who headed the committee, said a retirement town such as Akaroa needed the services of chiropodists, chiropractors, opticians. and dentists, hence the consulting rooms. These could also be used for counselling. Cr W. S. McCrae said 8100,000 would be a more) realistic figure which would elso allow for extensions.! But the County Engineer!

(Mr K. A. Paulin) said that based on April building costs and adding 15 per cent for inflation $50,000 to 855,000 would be adequate. Architectural “licence” would add a slight margin. The figure included the costs of carpets and furnishings.

’ There would be no room for expansion on the site. Akaroa’s population had remained static for about 60 years, but the figures were based on the estimated number of Dr Patrick’s patients in the summer, when the county’s population was higher.

The council decided that! the County Clerk and the; County Engineer should pro-| duce more detailed estimates! “so everything can be laid) on the table” in the circular.

Lighthouse site

The Akaroa Lighthouse Preservation Society will be able to put the historicl Akaroa Heads lighthouse on e reclaimed site south of the Main Wharf.

' Although the council had opposed the site its townplanning hearings committee

■I had approved it after hear- ! ing the evidence of all par- ! ties. Conditions of approval have yet to be drawn up. ! One of the conditions will I set the lighthouse further out into the harbour than • the society intended. A connecting causeway will probably have to be built, adding ■to costs. Cr Brocherie said the I society could expect no help from the community council jor the County Council in the i reclamation work. “We are] !committed to reclaiming the! ' other end of . Akaroa,” he! said. j The council’s choice of!

, site was on reclaimed land; tat the northern entrance to| ; the town. In a letter the society said That its fund stood at $l4O but a fund-raising drive would begin after a favourfable council decision. Four contractors had offered the use of plant and the Army would help to shift the| tower. The Marine Division of the Ministry of Transport lias told the council that the lighthouse must be shifted because another beacon tower built alongside is confusing shipping. The second ; tower was built in anticipation of the removal of the old lighthouse. New works yard The council’s works yard will soon be shifted to Green Point and the present yard will be sold to the Fire

■ Service Council. The Historic Places Trust approved the proposal for the works yard after satisfying itself that it will not go on the site of the historic home of a paramount chief of the Ngai-Tahu tribe, Temaiharanui; The chairman of the Banks Peninsula Maori Committee (Mr W. J. Karetai) ; said the Maori people were i satisfied that the historic site did not underlie the proposed yard. Planning problem , The council is reluctant to allow conversion of the

I j Chorlton Hall into a dwelling or store. ! It fears that it will set a I town-planning precedent that 1 will encourage the subdivision of rural land. The hall is in a rural zone ■ but the Chorlton Hall com- : mitt.ee wants to sell the hall ’ at a good price, invest the : I money, and finance localcommunity and sports pro- ’ jects with the interest. “It is difficult to see how : we can allow conversion of ! an ancillary building in a i rural zone into a residence without contravening an I ordinance specifically designed to protect rural land.” said Cr Brocherie. But Cr R. K. Craw said the hall took up just about all of the title. Sea wall Ten unemployed schoolleave’s are working with

- county staff to repair about I 100 m of the Little Akaloa s beach frontage. High seas : and tides have scoured the ■ beachfront away to the edge r of the road seal. Large rocks ; are being cemented together •to form a sea wall. The ; school-leavers are being em- - ployed under a joint scheme 1 of the Labour Department ! and the Education Depart- : ment. Road work Trees will be planted above the Wainui Road past ’ the rubbish dump. Water is ; draining between the soil ’ and the steep rock face, J causing the road to slump. . Cr Boleyn suggested improvements to Cemetery Road instead, but the , County Engineer said this ' would be expensive and the ! council did not have the , money. Tree planting would ; hold the road. ' The total cost will be $l4BO, of which the council , will pay $620 and the North : Canterbury Catchment Board ‘ the balance. i Cemetery grazing I Sheep will be allowed to : graze in the Le Bons Bay I cemetery 7. • “There was some opposition to this a few years ago,” said Cr J. L. Inwood, “but np-diie in the area seems to have anyone in there now. Most think it is i a good idea.”