Reporter's Diary

Press, 30 August 1980, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Neighbourhood . . . ALL is not well in the Avon Loop. Disputes are about to break out, two groups being at loggerheads over the Christchurch City Council's housing scheme for Bangor Street. The Avon Loop Plan ning Association is in favour of the scheme. The other group, the Otakaro Land Trust, is against it, and this week-end its members will canvass the Avon Loop seeking signatures for a petition opposing the construction of several new housing units in Bangor Street. The Otakaro group says the council would be.better to support the .rehabilitation of existing houses in the area rather .than- spend a lot of

money building ' new ones, especially since the proposed units “over-emphasise tae use of motor vehicles and lack a common recreational and social area.” ■ Neither do they provide for family accommodation, the Otakaro group says. - ■ . . . in dissent OTAKARO Land Trust’s petition would be presented to the Christchurch City Council housing and property committee at its meeting on Monday by the Mayor (Mr Hamish Hay), said the organiser ■of the petition (Mr Keith .Whiting) yesterday. It was printed only on Thursday afternoon, though, so the members of the tr ll3 } will be busy this week-end knocking on all the doors in

the Avon Loop area. “We think there are about 250 residents in the area,” _Mr Whiting said. “We believe that more of them would be against tfie Bangor Street proposal than for it, so we are going to find out. We realise it could make or break us — we might only get 10 signatures. But I believe we’ll get more support than those in favour of the scheme.”

One country THE South Island passports, mentioned in Thursday 5 s “Diary,” may have been issued just for fun, a reader said yesterday, but after what happened earlier in the week, he is not so sure. A member of his staff had gone to the Post Office to send a parcel to the Chatham Islands. She came back with the story that the Post Office counter attendant had told her that parcels to the Chatham® required a cus-

toms declaration. The Chatham Islands a foreign country? Not . likely, tie thought, and sent the girl back to enlighten the Post Office that the Chathams were still very much part of New Zealand. “The next thing they’il be telling us is t’.iat you need a customs clearance to send a parcel to the North Island.” he said. In suspense CHRISTCHURCH workers travelling home along Victoria Street in the evenings may have noticed an unusual sight. High above a site where work has just begun on a new building, can be seen a large concrete mixer, suspended by a crane. Is it a new way of pouring concrete? No. It gets strung up there at nights so that no-one. can pinch it. <]]