Regional body ‘has killed South Island’

Press, 21 August 1979, Page 6

Regional body ‘has killed South Island’

The Canterbury Regional Planning Authority had killed the South Island, the Heathcote County chairman (Mr J. M. McKenzie) told a special meeting of his council’s town planning committee last evening. Canterbury was being run 1 down by unimaginative and inflexible planning, whereas other parts of the South, such as Otago, Southland, and Mid-Canterbury had “blossomed,” he said. The Heathcote County’s district scheme review conflicted with the draft regional scheme for Canterbury, said Cr W. M. Hindmarsh. Unless the council could persuade the planning authority that it was “necessary and desirable” to increase the council’s urban area then the district scheme review would fail. The element of choice, which was very important, would be taken out of planning in Canterbury if the draft scheme went ahead, Cr

Hindmarsh said. The Heathcote County district scheme review allows for a greater urban area in the county than the regional planning authority’s scheme does. The authority’s draft review had put little emphasis on the port of Lyttelton. Cr Hindmarsh said. Banks Peninsula was an ideal place for development, and there was no reason for not making Diamond Harbour more accessible for development. Old arguments that the Port Hills were not suitable for development, because they were unstable, were not true of the whole area. Mr McKenzie said that it made more sense to develop an area such as the Port Hills than to develon an isolated area such as Rolleston, which the draft scheme allowed for. It would not be economic to develop the area. How much would it cost to put in sewerage there? he asked.

The authority had not accounted for a declining population in the south, or for the energy crisis in the regional scheme, Cr Hindmarsh said. There should be research into what sort of people the authority was planning for. “Until a few weeks ago it never occurred to me that we should plan for anyone other than New Zealanders.” The arrival of Vietnamese refugees had changed this, he said. The town planning committee decided that councillors should make their views on the draft scheme known to a special sub-committee of the council which would prepare a report to be considered at the' next council meeting. The council had asked other councils on the Peninsula for their views on the planning authority’s draft scheme and joint submissions on it might be made, Mr McKenzie said.