Styx Mill refuse site favoured

Press, 25 September 1982, Page 6

Styx Mill refuse site favoured

Styx Mill Road was favoured for the proposed northern refuse transfer station by speakers at a planning hearing in Christchurch yesterday. The Christchurch Metropolitan Refuse Committee has applied to the Waimairi District Council for a specified departure from its District Scheme to build a transfer station at one of three sites. These are site A, on Styx Mill Road; site Z. on Cavendish Road; and site W, at the corner of Cavendish Road and Barnes Road. On Thursday, counsel for the refuse disposal committee, Mr J. R. Milligan, described site A as the most appropriate for the transfer station. Yesterday, the Styx . Mill Road site was chosen as the most suitable by the district council's engineer, Mr A. J. W. Lamb, and the refuse committee’s project engineer, Mr A. C. Vogan.

Mr Lamb said that the proposed site A was almost as good as the originally desired site on the south side of Styx Mill Road, which was owned by the Railways Cor-

poration. The then Railways Department would not release the land to the refuse committee, he said. Site A was relatively remote from housing, which was the main reason for the choice, said Mr Lamb. Site Z was almost unacceptable because it was closer to housing and access was not so good.

In addition, site A after landscaping would enhance the proposed adjacent reserve, which might be developed as a forest. The existing dump in Johns Road was unsuitable as the refuse station's foundations could not be built on the filled area. The building would need to be off the land-fill area, which would then bring it too dose to the runway of Christchurch Airport, Mr Lamb said. Mr Vogan said that although all three sites were suitable, he preferred the Styx Mill Road site because it was close to State highway 1. It was an attractive site and so the station and its landscaping could be developed to a high and attractive

standard. Site Z in Cavendish Road was his second choice. The disadvantage was that the station would open to the east rather than north and there was less scope for landscaping. Site W, bounded by Barnes Road, Cavendish Road, and Sturrocks Road, was his third choice. There was less room there for expansion, although more room for mounding to deflect noise. Mr R. W. Batty, a town planner and landscape designer, said that there were no valid planning reasons to prevent site A being chosen as the refuse transfer site. The site could be developed without a detrimental impact on the landscape — it had easy traffic access and was separated from surrounding residential areas. The Styx Mill Rbad intersection with the Main North Road could cope adequately with increased traffic if the intersection was improved, said Mr R. D. Odams, district highways engineer of. the Ministry of Works and Development. The intersection needed to be improved any-

way, and works could proceed as soon as possible after any decision to build the transfer station at site A. It was a question of when, he said. From a land-use point of view, site W was preferable for the transfer station because it was already zoned Industrial C, and site A was second choice, said Mr R. D. Keating, an agricultural consultant. However, site A had least potential for food production. while site Z had the highest, he said. Mr B. H. Hadcroft, a Valuation Department valuer, said that any loss in surrounding property values would arise only through poor management of the transfer station leading to some nuisance emanating from the site. However, site A would course the least detrimental effect on residential property value's because .it was furthest from housing and close to the proposed Industrial C 3 zone on the south side of Styx Mill Road. . , . ... Mr Hadcroft chose site W as second least likely to have a detrimental effect on sur-

roundings. because the industrial zone was already established. Because site Z was more exposed, the transfer station would be more noticeable there and surrounding rural properties could be slightly devalued, he said. Representative engineers of the Christchurch City Council, the Paparua County Council and the Heathcote County Council expressed an urgent need for another transfer station because of limited tipping facilities within each council's area. Mr H. E. Surtees, of the City Council, said that open tipping followed by covering with filling material was an anachronism in today's en-vironment-conscious suburban areas. » Mr Vogan used the western transfer station in support of his case for a northern station, emphasising the cleanliness and the lack of smell and nuisance at the western station, established 15 months ago. The independent hearing Banel is chaired by Mr N. G. attaway, a Christchurch solicitor.