County reviewing District Scheme

Press, 21 July 1988, Page 27

County reviewing District Scheme

The method of issuing building permits for rural areas will be considered by the Ellesmere County Council in its District Scheme review this year. The County Clerk, Mr George Singleton, said several applications for building permits on rural lots, which did not conform to present requirements, had recently been considered by the council. A notified application for a residential subdivision in Maddisons Road near Rolleston and a request for a change to the District Scheme to allow closer subdivision in the rural zone have been received by the council recently. The County Planner, Mr lan Dalton, said that people seeking permits to build on rural lots of less than 50 acres which were not part of a farm were required to use some of the land, for agriculture. He said the increase in people wanting to sub-

divide and build on rural lots was probably a. result of the economic climate. Some farmers were selling off parts of their farms to make money. “There is nothing wrong with small holdings but we. do not want an increase in the number of people simply living on rural blocks and contributing nothing to the economy,” Mr Dalton said.

The member of Parliament for Selwyn, Miss Ruth Richardson, has recently sent a memorandum to all local authorities in the Selwyn electorate saying that overly rigid subdivisional criteria can deny some families the prospect of economic survival.

Reviewing the District Scheme to take account of all these issues would not be easy, said Mr Dalton.

The council will hold a meeting early in August to discuss aspects of the review.