Mixed reaction to gondola decision

Press, 17 December 1986, Page 9

Mixed reaction to gondola decision

Heathcote Valley residents opposed to the Port Hills gondola plan were both disappointed and delighted yesterday about the Heathcote County and Lyttelton Borough council’s provisional decisions.

The chairman of Heathcote Valley’s Community Association, Mr Winston Hindmarsh, said he was disappointed that the councils had decided provisionally to approve the building of the gondola. "Naturally we are disappointed but at the same time we are delighted the artificial skislope and toboggan-run have not been approved,” he said. The association had not yet decided what to do about appealing against the gondola, he said. This would have to wait until the Canterbury United Council had considered the proposal in terms of the Summit Road Protection Act, in February.

‘lf the developers appeal against stopping the ski-slope and tobogganrun we will respond,” Mr Hindmarsh said. “We will just have to wait and see what the United Council decides about the gondolas, though.”

Mr Hindmarsh was concerned about rumours that the United Council intended to base its decision entirely on the recommendations of the independent commissioner, Mr Ron De Goldi, whom the Heathcote County Council employed to study the proposal. “Mr De Goldi only considered the proposal in terms of the Town and Country Planning Act,” he said. “I don’t think there was anything in his brief about looking at it from the Summit Road Protection Act point of view.”

The United Council’s regional planning manager, Mr Max Barber, said his staff would study Mr De Goldi’s recommenda-

tions to see how they fitted in with the Summit Road Protection Act. Both a staff report and Mr De Goldi’s report would be given to the councillors so that they could make their decision.

“I have not yet seen the report so I cannot comment on it,” Mr Barber said.

A spokesman for the developer, Mr Peter Yeoman, said the developer’s position had not changed yesterday. The developer would still probably appeal against Mr De Goldi’s recommendation not to include a ski-slope and toboggan-run in the plans. Mr De Goldi’s 23 other conditions, covering design, colour and location, did not affect the developer’s plans.

"The conditions will not hurt... most of them are what were in the plans anyway,” Mr Yeoman said. “The appeal is the major thing now.”