Merivale asks City to buy reserve

Press, 13 November 1985, Page 7

Merivale asks City to buy reserve

The Merivale Precinct Society wants the Christchurch City Council to buy the parkland and lake reserve — valued at $240,000 — in its planned Merivale park development. An application by the finance committee set up to organise funding for the $1.5 million land deal for the project was submitted to the council late on Monday. It still has to be considered by councillors, and may go to the City Council on Monday evening. The chairman of the Merivale finance committee, Mr John Cameron Lewis, said the society wanted the council to buy the public open space in the project intended for the corner of Office Road and Papanui Road. " The bare land price for the area, of land intended for the park and lake was $240,000, he said. Mr Cameron Lewis said the council could meet the price for the land from its reserves fund, to which contributions were made by developers, and at the same time provide another park for Merivale.

Althougn Merivale had such parks as Elmwood Park, the subdivision of land for town houses and motels was fast using up

open space in the suburb. The society also wants the council to meet the costs of landscaping the park and to remit rates on the planned community centre in the development. Mr Cameron Lewis said his committee had met six times since it was formed on October 25 to help with the environmental plan for Merivale. The proposed park and mews village development came within that plan. The Merivale Precinct Society’s chairman, Mr Kim Pettengell, said last evening that the society felt comments by one city councillor that Merivale residents should not expect council help with the project until they paid their outstanding rates were petty. Cr John Burn told a meeting of the City Council’s policy and finance committee on Monday that Merivale residents should pay up the rates they owed (in protest about rate increases) before expecting the council to contribute to their project. Other councillors shared his feelings. The society’s application was handed in at the council office too late to be put to the policy and finance meeting.

Mr Pettengell said that the company, set up by the society to pursue the development, was negotiating a lease of a commercial building it plans to build at the corner of Office Road and Papanui Road. The company plans to build the office building and sell it. It is up for sale at present. In the meantime it will lease it to tenants, including a banking institution at present negotiating for the ground floor. Mr Pettengell said details of the leases would be announced next week, as well as details of the finance package for the development. Monday is the deadline for the society to meet deposits totalling $200,000 for the land.