Freight depot to shut

Press, 7 August 1981, Page 4

Freight depot to shut

Air New Zealand's Gloucester Street freight depot will be closed, and a neighbourhood group wants at' least part of the land to revert to residential zoning. The airline property includes two car-parks in Armagh Street, land that was to have been used for future building expansion.

A spokesman for Inner City Operation Neighbourhood, Dr John Cameron, told the Christchurch City Council’s town-planning committee yesterday that at least part of the commercially zoned freight depot property was originally zoned for residential purposes. 1.C.0.N. wanted to see the land, near Cranmer Square,' come under a Residential 5A zone.

The land near Cranmer Square, was bought by Air New Zealand from Dr Enid Cook more than 10 years ago

and Air New Zealand had it rezoned from residential to commercial.

The City Planner (Mr W. T. Williams) said that he was certain that council afficers would have no objection to the change if Air New Zealand agreed to it. He said that the existing car-parking uses would have the right to remain.

Cr D. J. Rowlands asked if they would be likely to remain a long time. Mr Williams said that he could not foresee residential construction being done there under present circumstances unless the property was acquired by the council and used for something like flats. Motels woulds be another possible use. The area was significant to the city, said Cr M. J. Glubb. As it was, it presented "a bleak and desolate picture,"

and the car-parks “stuck out like an abscess." Cr Geoff Stone said that the council could support in principle the 1.C.0.N. proposal and seek a town-plan-ning report for next month on the possibility of a district scheme variation to allow it.

A spokesman for Air New Zealand said that the freight depot would close later this year. All freight work would be carried out. at the new cargo terminal at Christchurch Airport. Air Now Zealand would provide a transport service to pick up and deliver freight from the city. There was also a possibility of an agency’s being set up in the city for" small parcels. Another spokesman said that Air New Zealand had obtained the approval of the Ministry of Transport to dispose of the property. The value was being assessed and the market investigated.