Caution on review of Summit Road Act

Press, 28 February 1986, Page 5

Caution on review of Summit Road Act

A change to the Summit Road Protection Act might not be timely because of local government amalgamation, -says- the Christchurch City Council’s town-planning committee. " L' ;; It made this reservation yesterday while supporting the Canterbury United Council’s call for the act to be revised. The City Council jurisdiction contains only a small area affected by the act — the land on Richmond Hill and Sumner, zoned rural 1. The zone is intended to maintain landscape qualities and contain the urban arqg while being productive. Beyond the city boundaries are a number of reserves covered by the act which are vested in the council to control.

The draft bill proposed by the council to bring the act up to date is, an

important document for the area, in .view of plans ,for a gondola and restaurant in Heathcote Valley, councillors were told. The draft bill would bring several changes in the act They include the productin of a management plan for the area covered by the act, a first option for the United Council to buy land in the area, clarify what are permitted uses and the general purpose, of the act, establish a defined procedure for established houses in the protection area, and establish a procedure for dealing with applications and provide for development levies.

The bill sets out a onestop procedure for applications for land use in the area, with all applications going to the United Council. The Summit Road Protection Act would prevail over any manage-

ment plan, the Reserves Act, and the Town and County Planning Act:

The act would become the planning legislation for the area and would bind the Crown. The United Council can extend the boundaries of the protection area. Under the provisions of the bill the gondola application would go to the United Council and the Crown would be bound by the act.

The committee supported the aims of the bill while noting that changes to local bodies might mean that alterations to the act would be best deferred. The alternative to a special act for the area was for each local authority to cover the land in its own District Scheme. A single body with an overview was an advantage, however.