Reserve botany ‘not special’

Press, 20 July 1988, Page 1

Reserve botany ‘not special’

By

KAY FORRESTER

The man whose family owns the Port Hills land bordering the Mount Cavendish reserve says the reserve has no special botanical significance. Mr Peter Scott, who has been farming the hills for 25 years, says the reserve is about onethird rock. Other reserves stretching to the Sign of the Bellbird had silver tussock stands better than that on Mount Cavendish.

Mr Scott, who manages about 1200 ha on the hills owned or leased by the J.S. Scott Estate,

said his family had been farming the hills for 80 years. The family owns land in the Heathcote, Horotane, Avoca and Morgans valleys and leases the Godley Head Farm Park and the Mount Vernon and Bowenvale parks. The Scott family also owns the land that would be used by Payeo Developments, Ltd, for the gondola. Mr Scott’s father, John Scott, gave the developer a longterm option on an area near the Tunnel Road Authority building for the bottom gondola station, an easement over a strip running up the hill for the gondola pylons,

and 18ha at the hill top, the alternative top station site to Mount Cavendish. “The arrangement is that the developer would exchange that 18ha for the 4000 sq m in the reserve. The City of Christchurch would get 18ha more of reserve that would enable easier access to the Mount Cavendish Reserve,” Mr Scott said. “Instead the Conservation Department has said “no,” on the ground that Mount Cavendish has the best stand of silver tussock on the hills. That is not so.” Mr Scott said the developer’s option on the land would con-

tinue until they had been through all the planning procedures. The estate had honoured the arrangement his father had made before he died. The family had not become involved before in the gondola debate, Mr Scott said. “But I felt I should speak out when the Conservation Department is jeopardising an 18ha reserve for Christchurch for an area that is nothing special. There are many similar areas on the Port Hills.” Mr Scott said he believed the gondola was a must for Christchurch.