Approval given for racing museum

Press, 26 August 1986, Page 11

Approval given for racing museum

Historic Chokebore Lodge will become a floral studio and racing museum.

The Paparua County Council’s town planning committee recommended last evening that the council grant conditional use to the applicants, Mr John and Mrs Daphne Rolston. An agreement to lease Chokebore Lodge had already been made with the Sockburn District Community Council last month. Mr Rolston said he and Mrs Rolston were “quite excited” about the prospect of moving into the lodge and setting up business there.

He said they first considered the lodge when a photograph of it appeared in a newspaper at a time when its future hung in the balance.

"I had been looking for an older type of place and

this one came up,” Mr Rolston said.

The Rolstons would live as tenants in the lodge as well as acting as caretakers for the racing museum in the downstairs lounge. Chokebore Lodge is adjacent to Riccarton racecourse.

The Rolstons were granted conditional use of the lodge because it is in a residential area but came under county provisions for historic buildings.

Mr Rolston, who is experienced in horticulture, intends to sell flowers and floral accessories from the cob cottage arrangements and arts and crafts.

They hope to open the business during Show Day week-end at the beginning of November.

The Paparua County Council has spent more than $32,000 restoring the lodge and bringing it up to

building standards. External work is almost complete, as is the interior restoration, with landscaping and painting work to be completed. Subdivision A new rural residential area was also recommended by the committee. A West Melton man, Mr M. A. White-Johnson, proposes to subdivide his Johnson Road property into 20 rural residential lots, ranging in size from 0.5 to I.sha each.

Already approved in principle the scheme was adopted by the committee, subject to town planning standards. The subdivision will be the third rural residential area in Paparua County, allowing part-time farmers to build houses as of right instead of conditional use.