Council urged not to appeal

Press, 3 February 1984, Page 5

Council urged not to appeal

The Christchurch City Council should not appeal against Ministry of Works and Development decisions on Madras Street and Barbadoes Street, the council’s town-planning committee said yesterday.

Labour councillors objected to the recommendation. They said that an appeal should be made in the community’s interest. Cr Helen Garrett, the committee’s chairman, said that Ministry decisions about individual properties could still be appealed against by objectors. In a letter to the City Council, the Minister of Works, Mr Friedlander, said he had considered the recommendation to revoke a widening designation on the corners of Latimer Square, and on properties in Gloucester Street and Madras Street facing the square. “The internal radii at both corners of Latimer Square retain the minimum land necessary to ensure the safe and efficient movement of traffic through the square in a three-lane operation,” said Mr Friedlander. Further discussions with the council were needed on possible alternatives which would have less impact on St John’s Church, and a

slightly greater encroachment into Latimer Square, but over all affect fewer big trees, he said. A council request to remove the designation over Latimer Hostel was not accepted. Mr Friedlander said that 11 properties were needed to link Madras Street and Barbadoes Street to the Northern Arterial through St Albans.

The arterial requirement was subject to appeal. Until a decision had been made on the issue, the designation on those properties would be retained.

City Council recommendations for revocation of the designation were accepted, but only in part, for another seven properties. Complete revocation would have been detrimental to improved traffic management.

Mr Friedlander was willing to reduce the designation’s width by about a metre. That would mean that buildings were avoided.

Council recommendations on revocation of designations were accepted for four properties. Cr A. G. James said the decisions were very unfortunate, and had shown a lack of perception about the issue.