Merivale car-park extension refused
The Merivale Precinct Society has' won its long battle to put an end to the encroachment of car-parking from the Merivals Mall complex on to residential land. In a decision released yesterday, the Planning Tribunal has refused to grant planning consent to two sites near the mall, owned by G.U.S. Properties, Ltd, and intended for a total of 125 additional car-parking spaces.
“To grant consent in this case would amount to piecemeal planning decision-mak-ing, and that is to the public interest,” said the chairman of the Planning Tribunal (Judge Skelton) in the written decision.
“At peak times, with the level of commercial activity occurring at Merivale, onstreet car-parking will continue. The residents of this area must. come to terms with the fact that the mall complex is established as of right and is likely to remain,” he said. “But at the same time, they are entitled to be protected against the piecemeal intrusion of commerciallyassociated activities into the residential zone. Land-use planning is in a delicate state of balance in Merivale.”
Even though G.U.S. Properties had modified its proposal for one of the sites to
be used for staff cars only, the principle remained the same, Judge Skelton said. The Christchurch City Council’s earlier decision to grant consent in respect of this site (at the corner of Aikmans Road and Akela Street) and to refuse consent in respect of the other site (near the intersection of Office Road and Papanui Road) was inconsistent.
The Merivale Precinct Society gave evidence at the planning hearing that the residents of the area were prepared to tolerate the present . situation, with its periodical congestion on the surrounding streets at peak shopping times, rather than agree to G.U.S. Properties’ proposal fOr the two additional car-parking sites. “It is apparent to us, and we so conclude, that the residents are prepared to adopt this course because they fear further commercial intrusion, including car-park-ing, into the residential zone,” Judge Skelton said:
“Some of the residents fear also adverse effects arising from unattended carparks in the form of vandalism, hooliganism and noise disturbance. The residents are entitled to rely on the district scheme and planning generally to protect the amenities which this scheme seeks , to provide for them,” he said.
“Naturally, the Merivale Precinct Society is very pleased about the decision. In fact, you could say we are excited,” said the chairman (Mr Alun Wilkie) yesterday.
“It’s a battle that’s been won by the community. It’s a major decision for Merivale, and for the city as a whole, because other residential areas have been having similar problems,” he said. The Planning Tribunal’s decision about the bigger site (fronting on to Papanui Road and providing parking space for 101 cars) had come as no surprise. But the decision about the smaller site (on Aikmans Road and Akela Street) was a breakthrough. The society had appealed against the City Council’s decision to allow G.U.S. Properties to use the Aikmans Road site for parking.
Mr Wilkie said the decision effectively put a stop to inroads made by G.U.S. in the last few years into a residential area.
Not long ago, developers could encroach on residential areas as of right to provide car-parking for commercial developments under the district scheme. But since then the council had seen the error of its ways in allowing this encroachment, and had admitted as much, he said. “Residents in Merivale, and probably in other parts of the city too, can now go to
sleep at night without having to worry that they will wake in the morning and see bulldozers flattening the section next door to make way for a car-park,” Mr Wilkie said.
G.U.S. had “leapt the road” with its bigger proposed carpark, over the road from the existing car-park . .behind Merivale Mall, and properties as far down as Winchester Street could have been flattened for car-parking if approval had been given for this one, he said. “G.U.S. would have gone on a spending spree. They have an openly-stated policy of buying up properties in the area.” Mr Wilkie said that residents in the area had frequently decided to sell when they found that they would have a car-park next door. Finally, they had decided to make a stand.
Mr Alister Price, manager of Merivale Mall, said that as a result of the decision, car-parking was certainly not going to get better, and would probably get worse.
“There is sufficient carparking in the area for Meri-.. vale Mall, but not for the whole of Merivale Village, “Other retailers are not providing car-parking, though, and consequently we’re providing it for the whole area — Merivale Village and Merivale Mall.”
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Press, 2 March 1982, Page 1
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776Merivale car-park extension refused Press, 2 March 1982, Page 1
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