Tourist lodge in old quarry

Press, 6 May 1983, Page 5

Tourist lodge in old quarry

An application to build an indoor ice-skating rink and a tourist lodge and cabins at the former Waimairi shingle quarry in Wairakei Road has been approved by the Waimairi District Council’s town-planning committee.

The committee approved in principle stages two, three, and four of the application by Mr I. C. Wilson, which include a waterslide, boat pool, hot pools, a caravan park, camping ground, and up to 20 motel units. Objections to the application, which was heard over two sessions, on March 23 and April 13, came from residents who were worried about noise. However, the committee said it was happy that present legislation would control noise coming from the site.

Other objections came from caravan park and motor camp owners in and around Christchurch, but the committee held it was established in law that town planning was “not a system of regulating business competition.” Conditions laid down by the committee included the submission of a landscape plan for the site, and the provision of 100 permanent off-street car-parking spaces.

The ice-skating rink should run within the hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The building of the tourist lodge and the first 10 tourist cabins should proceed within the next four years, and space should be provided for further parking for cars and buses.

In the initial application, Mr Wilson asked that a takeaway bar be installed for the guests, but this was withdrawn when the hearing reconvened. A condition has been imposed to prohibit this altogether.

The development, especially the motel units, lodge, and cabins which were proposed to be built on the outside of the site, would act as a buffer between industrial and residential zones.

The chairman of the committee, Cr I. Calvert, said that the last three stages had been approved in principle only, giving the council freedom in the events of changes occurring in the area between now and the finalising of those stages.

The location of the site, between Russley Road and the new Grahams Road link had good road access and

its closeness to other facilities, such as the airport and the Russley golf course, also appealed to the committee.

Winery

Consent was also given for the building of a winery and a house at the corner of Wairakei Road and Stanley Road although approval was qualified. The applicants Harold Investments, Ltd, and T.P. Capon, wished to subdivide the 12.08 ha section, to sell 5.14 ha to an adjoining property owner who has a market garden.

However, the committee ruled that the subdivision was not in the best interest of land use. Cr Calvert said it was not good planning procedure to have the property reduced in size now.

He said that although the applicants had said they had sufficient land for winemaking, and had given an assurance no grapes would be brought in from other areas, the situation might change in the future. The council would not grant the subdivision because the applicant needed the money from the sale of the land to develop.

The committee also declined approval to fell certain trees on the pro-

perty. The value of a stand of 30m-high elm trees on the property was too great in landscaping and historical of terms, the committee held.

Other belts of trees on the property, including walnuts and poplars, could be removed.

Cr F. Chisholm was concerned about.one cabbage tree on the site, which he said dated back to preEuropean times.

The tree was used as a landmark by Maoris, and was as mich value as one at Burnside High School. Turned down

The committee turned down an application by Decabond Partnership to establish an outdoor product display centre at 30 Wrights Road.

The land was part of the Addington Raceway but the southern motorway separated it from the main part of the raceway’s land. Eight objectors were concerned about traffic noise and fumes, the loss of a “country outlook,” a lowering of their property values, and a general detriment to the residential environment. The committee found that the application was “too vague” to be approved.

The range of suitable sites for a large outdoor display centre was limited and the application had not identified any one of ten sites as being greatly superior to any other. The applicants wanted to use the site seven days a week, as opposed to the raceway which was in use about 30 days a year. The objectors did not like this idea.

The question of setting a precedent also worried the committee.

The construction of the motorway had isolated the land which was the subject of the application, but this had also happened to other raceway land fronting Wrights Road and Lincoln Road.

The land had already been the subject of subdivisional approval to allow separate ownership of the New Zealand Trotting Conference headquarters fronting Lincoln Road.

A precedent could be set for further commercial proposals on either Wrights Road or Lincoln Road. These could be seen to be dertimental to the traffic function, and could put the future residential zoning of the land west of Wrights Road at risk.