District scheme

Press, 23 April 1980, Page 20

District scheme

Sir, — It is comforting to see Christchurch’s Mayor, Mr H. G. Hay, make a public stand over the proposed roading changes to Latimer and Cranmer Squares (“The Press.” March 31). No doubt he is right in saying the proposals are controversial and hence may be changed in the light of public comment. While I applaud Mr Hay’s concern that citizens exercise their rights of objection over this particular aspect of the reviewed City Scheme, could the Mayor tell us how he feels over other proposals in the scheme? Are Latimer and Cranmer Squares the only “controversial” issues? For instance, does Mr Hay feel the Avonside expressway, another traffic engineering proposal in the scheme, should also be subject to “plenty of public comment”? For Mr Hay to select for comment just one planning proposal could leave the suspicion that he is primarily concerned with some political benefit from “bandwaggon jumping”. in this locai body election year. — Yours, etc., G. E. BENN. March 31, 1980. [The Mayor, Mr Hamish Hay, replies: "I commented upon the Latimer and Cranmer Square proposals in the District Scheme Review because I was asked to. There are undoubtedly many other matters in the scheme, including the Avonside expressway, which are controversial and this has been borne out by the fact that over 2000 objections were received by the closing date on March 31, sufcbequent to my • earlier statement. Now that objections have closed and are subject to hearing procedures, I do not consider it appropriate for me to comment further until the appeals have been heard and reported to the Council.”]