Hill houses get go-ahead

Press, 24 September 1983, Page 9

Hill houses get go-ahead

Port Hills property owners wishing to build a house on a rurally zoned section of more than 40 hectares will not have to seek special planning permission, the Planning Tribunal has ruled.

It rejected an appeal by the Canterbury United Council for limits on housebuilding.

The United Council said that an earlier Paparua County Council decision to allow houses as a predominant use on rural land with a minimum area of 40ha did not adequately protect the character of the Port Hills. From the evidence, it appeared the United Council would oppose building permit applications unless a house was necessary for the unit to be run for agricultural purposes. In a reserved decision Judge Treadwell said the

owner of a 40ha section should not have to justify building a house. Such a rule would be a “gross interference with the rights of the property owner in relation to such a large area of land,” the tribunal said.

The United Council’s concern about the intrusion of houses on the visual and recreational values of the Port Hills were not justified.

The matter should be put in to a “reasonable perspective,” said the tribunal. There were only about 13 allotments of more than 40ha in the area. However, some could be subdivided. The tribunal commented that the United Council sought restrictions on house building but not on the erection of other buildings which could be “equally obtrusive.”