Estuary users ‘must agree’

Press, 15 July 1982, Page 6

Estuary users ‘must agree’

The A von-Heathcote Es t u-. ary , has room for yachts'and power boats, but they have to reach agreement on how to co-exist, the planning tribunal heard in Christchurch yesterday. The tribunal is hearing an appeal by the New Brighton Power Boat Club,-against the Christchurch City Council’s districtscheme review; which imposes conditions and Restrictions on the club's power boats using the Estuary.,', ’ The commodore of the Plesant Point Yacht Club, Mr, P. R, Foltep, said that power boats should not ihfr-‘ inge on the area used by the yacht club since 1890. _• .;■ The area designated for power boats use only encroached on the main channel, which gave access to and from the yacht club, and prevented yachtsmen from. ' L ' ' ■ £’

. having legal access to the , Estuary, from that area, he said. The yacht club wants the power boat racing course moved to another part of the Estuary to enable . yachts safe access. ‘‘We also require a safe area of water for juniors and . beginners to train,: learn to .sail;and race, near the yacht club, but away from the tidal rip directly in front of the club,” said Mr Folter.There was a “major conflict” of. water use on the : Estuary. “To get' even the minimum/measure ’ of safety and alia/ the fears of accident and injury of yacht club members, power boating must be moved to the area requested,” said Mr Folter. Mr 'R. D. Johnson, an assistant planner for the Christchurch City Council, told the tribunal that power boat racking — not. pleasure'power,-

boating — had become incompatible with other uses of the Estuary. The council’s policy was that racing should cease by the time of the next . district scheme review, in i about five years. Racing had become ihcom- I patible because of- the 4 , changes in power boat types ' i and>;;their ? : performance. < Nearby residents / had/ ex- j pressed concern about the •; noise, frequency, and timing i of power boat racing, and the 1 “potentially. . daiigerous” congestion in the; Estuary’s 1 northern apex./Some. resi- 1 dents favoured shifting the- s course in the Estuary. i Planning controls for the ; 1 Estuary within the council’s s district scheme were long i overdue, said Mr Johnson. ’ 1 Mr T. Moody, the council’s . t supervising health inspector, i said that standards relating , to permissible npise... levels ?1 : included in the reviewed, dis- t

trict scheme would enable the power boat racing to continue at normal. club level. However,. the standards would exclude national regattas and kilometre runs, when larger and unsilenced boats were. used. ; •Mr Moody confirmed that noise levels exceeding 100 decibels had been recorded during kilometre trials. He said that legal control on noise emanating from the Estuary was necessary. Cross-examined by Mr A. Hem, for the New Brighton Power Mr Moody said no attempt .had been made to monitor the noise levels of boats towing water skiers on the Estuary. He agreed that the club had been co-operative in trying to contain the noise nuisance from members’ boats. The permissible noise levels in the city plan were too high,-said the•secretary

of the South New Brighton Resident’s Association, Mr J. W. Knight: The association wanted non-silenced power ' boat engines banned on the Estuary, "in the interests of 10,000 residents who are affected.” ■■ Mrs N. A. O’Brien, of Malta Crescent, South Brighton, s said that excessive speeds of power boats made sailing on the Estuary dangerous, especially for young or inexperienced sailors. The president of the Combined Estuary Association, Mr B. R. Hansen, told the tribunal that the district scheme review contained the ’framework for a management plan which his association had sought for years. The hearing, before Judge D. F. G. Sheppard, Messrs B. L. Byrnes, P. A. Catchpole and, K. A. Earles, continues today. - Tuesday’s evidence, Page 11.