Urban rezoning for Mt Vernon?

Press, 4 February 1987, Page 1

Urban rezoning for Mt Vernon?

By JENNY LONG Part of Mount Vernon Park, the reserve which Christchurch people rallied to buy on the Port Hills, is being investigated for residential development. - The Christchurch Civic Trust, which,■ owns Mount Vernon, has applied'to the Heathcote County Council to have about 7200 sq m rezoned as residential hill slope. This would allow the development of about six residential sections. The Council’s planning committee received the planners’ report at a meeting last evening, but has made no recommendation. The 236 ha park was originally secured for use by all Canterbury people after appeals raised thousands of dollars over the last two years. The chairman of the Christchurch Civic Trust, Mr John Brandts-Giesen, said last evening that the

trust was still short of about $25,000.. (This does not include money that has been pledged and not yet received.) "The investigation is simply a contingency plan. Even if permission is granted no decision has been made as to whether ■ ’we would! proceed ~wiiilv -/the!>> Mr Brandts-Giesen said the area was adjacent to existing houses, and at‘the foot of the park near Vernon Terrace and The Crescent. A sale would not affect the oyer-all scheme of the park, said Mr BrandtsGiesen. He also said that no further sales would be considered by the trust. The aim of the trust is to raise funds to hand a debt-free Mount Vernon to the Port Hills Trust Board. The County Council’s consultant planners reported that the land appeared well suited to

residential development-. The planners said the land proposed for rezoning was only half the land which might be physically suitable for redevelopment. It would be logical to consider all the land at the valley head for resi■dentipl development before rezoning part of <it,’said the’planners.: :, The land is zoned rural in the District Scheme. Under the regional scheme the land is zoned “rural” Of “unprotected,” so that the Canterbury United Council could not object to rezoning. The planners recommended “that the council resolve to support in principle a change to the residential hillside/rural zone boundary in this area.” The council would also have to consider the future of legal unformed roads which pass through the area suggested for development.