Sympathy Bit some Halswell residents

Press, 25 February 1986, Page 7

Sympathy Bit some Halswell residents

The Paparua County Council’s town planning committee has expressed sympathy for some Halswell residents who are not likely to receive flooding assistance if the Christchurch Drainage Board adopts a new catchment scheme.

The committee discussed last evening the four main schemes being considered by the board in its Investigation of the catchment facilities along the Heathcote River.

The first and preferred scheme involved a moderate amount of river widening, causing only minor changes to the riverside. However, it would not reduce greatly the amount of flooding in the Cashmere Valley and Hendersons Road area, which would be used as a peak-flow control measure.

Residents in the area felt strongly about the need for flooding allevia-

tion, said councillors

The second scheme involved more widening but meant drainage in the Henderson Road area would be 20 per cent faster than Scheme I’s. There would be a little more flood relief. Scheme 3 involved the buying of low-lying residential properties along the river instead of riverwidening, and replacing them with park, but this would not change the Halswell problems.

Scheme 4 would reduce flooding by substantial river-widening but it would greatly change the river's appearance and much ponding of floodwaters would remain in Halswell. The board asked local authorities for comment by the end of March. The committee decided to recommend the board’s preferred scheme to the council. It said that drainage improvements in the

Hendersons-Cashmere-Hoon Hay Valley area should be insured.

An increase in planning application fees was recommended by the committee.

The present fees did not recover the cost of a hearing, the committee was told. Councillors’ fees, staff time, and administration costs were about $2OO in total. The fee for a planning application would rise from $2O to $4O. The hearing fee for a decision of conditional use and notified dispensation would increase from $BO to $lOO, and specified departure decisions would increase from $l3O to $l5O. The recommended increases were lower than the recent Christchurch City Council fee increases. The forming of a subcommittee to look into rural planning controls was recommended.