TOWN PLANNING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26774, 18 May 1948, Page 4

TOWN PLANNING

Conference to be Held Next Month DEPUTATION TO CITY COUNCIL

Organisations in the city and the adjacent boroughs which are interested in town planning will have an opportunity to discuss the subject at a conference which will be held in the City Council Chambers on June 17. A motion to this effect was carried by the City Council at its meeting last night both in response to a request by a representative deputation which waited on it and as the result of representations made by the council itself in recent months.

The deputation which met the council was led by Mr M. S. Myers, the director of the Dunedin Development Council, and Mr H. L. Paterson. It represented the Otago Regional Planning Council, the Dunedin Development Council, the Otago Trades Council, the Otago-Southland Manufacturers’ Association, the Senior and Junior Chambers of Commerce, the Otago Expansion League, the Otago Harbour Board, the Surveyors’ Institute, the Otago Real Estate Institute, the Otago Law Society, the Dunedin Master Builders’ Association, and the Otago Amenities’ Society. “The subject of town planning is one in which the people might be ahead of the legislators,” Mr Myers said. He urged the council to call a special meeting of local bodies within a radius of 15 miles of Dunedin to set up a metropolitan organisation which would bring down a scheme of town planning for the greater metropolitan area. He added that such organisations had already been set up in Wellington and Auckland. Definite Plan Needed Mr Myers said that he was certain that the council realised that sporadic growth could not be allowed, and that a definite plan, providing for the future requirements of schools, transport systems, traffic outlets, and water supply, amongst other things, should be formulated for the whole area. Mr Myers read from a report by the Ministry of Works, which stated that the gx-eatest problem to be faced in town planning was the tendency of each local authority to proceed with its own developments without taking into consideration those of others outside its own area.

for any outside move.” Mr Paterson said. “It is possible within our own boundaries to get all the information necessary for town planning and to employ a town planner if necessary. It should not be necessary to go out of Dunedin and wait for someone from Wellington to come to address the council and say that a plan is necessary.

“We>want a plan that will leave a mark on the progress of this city and which will be felt in years to come," Mr Paterson concluded. “As the years pass, our electricity supplies will ensure us the population which has been drifting towards the north.” Advice From Department

The Mayor, Mr Cameron, told the deputation that he and the town clerk, Mr R. A. Johnston, had discussed the question of town planning with the Government’s Town Planning Department in Wellington last September. They were informed that certain modifications of the present Act were being considered, and that the Director of Town Planning would be pleased to send members of his staff to Dunedin to discuss the question with all the public bodies concerned.

Mr Cameron added that representations were made to the director by the council on two occasions since, but no action resulted. Cr Ireland then called upon the director and as a result a conference had been arranged for June 17. Mr Cox, of the Town Planning Department, would come to Dunedin and would give a lead on the latest Government proposals on this important matter. He added that it had been impossible to call a conference any earlier. “No one has been more anxious than this council that the principle of town planning should be established in this city,” said the chairman of the Works Committee, Cr Ireland, when the deputation had withdrawn. “ Had permission been given by the then director of town planning, Dunedin would have been zoned many years ago.”

Mr Myers claimed that a town planning scheme should not be delayed, particularly since the population of Dunedin would grow in sympathy with the recent increase in the population of the Dominion. He added that no organisation was more qualified to do the work than the council, assisted by the Ministry of Works. It was a pity that action for town planning had not been taken before. Mr Paterson said. Town planning was not a matter of subdivision or the mere designing of sti'eets. There had to be proper suburban areas, playing ai-eas. industrial areas and residential areas. That was called zoning—perhaps- the most important feature of town planning. The effects were cumulative and would be enjoyed by generations to come.

Cr Ireland added that he was of the opinion that the time was long past when Dunedin should have been zoned, and the whole metropolitan area planned. “If any person made application for permission to open a factory in the middle of a residential area, he could not be refused it in law,” Cr Ireland continued. Dunedin was the only city in New Zealand that had ordered aerial photography of the whole metropolitan area. Cr Ireland said. A plan of the existing land use in the city was also being prepared by the city valuer. These were steps which were necessary fpr town planning. Cr Ireland added that it was not the fault of the City Council that the aerial mapping had not been completed; this might take another year. The speaker said that the council would unquestionably co-operate with other bodies in the area in town planning. “If the city wants a good investment, it should buy the Stock Exchange and the old Post and Telegraph Office fdr a civic square,” he added. “It would cost about £200,000, but it would be worth it.” Cr Ireland added that the council, in the past four years at least, had been trying to ensure that all subdivisions in the metropolitan area fitted in with the future boundaries of the city. He said that he would like to see more familiarity among those who subdivided land with the requirements of town planning. In conclusion, Cr Ireland said that he hoped that the planning for the future would not be done only by theorists, but by practical men, or the plan might become more of a liability than an asset.

Dunedin had never been zoned, the speaker continued. Residential areas were mixed with industrial areas and intersections were congested, to name two features. Mr Patei-son claimed that an example of the latter was the intersection of Rattray street and Princes street, with High street nearby. All traffic passed in one small bottleneck. If that street area were

The council then adopted the proposal for a conference.

well planned traffic going in certain directions could be diverted along other streets. It would not be difficult to plan a “clover leaf” design, used' elsewhere effectively. Co-operation Necessary

Town planning could not be effective unless it spread into areas controlled by adjoining local bodies, Mr Paterson added. Dunedin, therefore, should co-operate with the bodies governing districts such as Mosgiel, Green Island and Port Chalmers.

Mr Paterson said that Green Island was now engaged in a town planning scheme, but the local council lacked knowledge of what was going on beyond its boundaries. It would be a tragedy if the co-operation by the parent body were refused. The Town Planning Act, 1926, provided for the setting up of an overall body which might be a town planning organisation or a council, and other organisations could be co-opted for special information. Mr Paterson said as the plan' proceeded it could be discussed by the bodies and approved by the director. “I would ask that local bodies here should hold a meeting without waiting