Questions raised on Estuary use

Press, 16 July 1982, Page 4

Questions raised on Estuary use

Questions were: raised be- . fore the Planning Tribunal > yesterday about the Christ- ' church City Council’s author- ’ ity to regulate the use of the A von-Hea thcote V : , - The tribunal was receiving final submissions jn, the hearing of an appeal by the New Brighton Power Boat Club against the district scheme review, which restricts the use of power boats in the Estuary. Representing the club, Mr A. Hearn, Q.C., asked whether the Estuary was vested in the Crown. If it was, he said, the council’s rowers over it were limited jecause the Crown was not subject to town-planning provisions. But Judge Sheppard said that this applied only if the Crown wanted to use the land for its own purposes.. Mr Hearn agreed that while the Crown itself did not have to observe district scheme provisions, this did not mean that the scheme

, was invalid for other people .using Crown land. ?’■ A plea, in support of the ? Recreational 5 zoning, but against the allocation of a power boat course,was made by Mr D. R. ...Nixon. The two were incompatible, he said. “The zoning permits a general and varied use by the public but the public use is effectively banned by the location of a power boat course for exclusive use in the area of greatest public use,” he told the hearing: The course would also deny access to the Estuary and the Avon River, and was therefore against the public interest/ Mr. Nixon said. He recommended instead that the area south of the jetty be set aside for power boat users. Appearing with Judge Sheppard on the tribunal . were Messrs B. L. Byrnes, P. A. Catchpole, and K. A. Earles. Decision was reserved.