REGIONAL PLANNING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 September 1941, Page 6

REGIONAL PLANNING

INFORMATIVE REVIEW GIVEN BY MR T. JORDAN SCOPE AND INTENTIONS OF ACT. DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES. A comprehensive and informative review of regional planning was given at today’s luncheon of the Masterton Rotary Club by the Mayor, Mr T. Jordan, who is president of the Municipal Association of New Zealand and hasi been a member of the Town Board for over ten years as one of the Municipal Association’s representatives. The president of the Masterton Rotary Club, Mr Norman Lee, presided. The first portion of Mr Jordan’:, address is given below; the balance will appear in a later issue. “In 1926 was passed the first Town Planning Act in New Zealand, imposing an obligation on every borough with a population of not less than 1.000 to prepare and submit a town planning scheme in respect of all land in the borough before January 1, 1937.” said Mr Jordan. “It provided also for a. combination by agreement of two or more local authorities for the purpose of preparing a combined scheme, limited, however, to the area of a borough and the suburban area in an adjoining county. This was called a regional planning scheme but the word regional is loosely used in the act and not in accordance with the accepted practice where it has a much wider significance. The Act was accordingly amended by the Act of 1929 and the use of the term regional was eliminated from the earlier Act—the term ’’extra urban’ substituted for it and definite provision made for the preparation of regional planning schemes properly so-called.

CO-ORDINATION. “The purpose of such a scheme is the conservation and economic development of the natural resources of the region to which it relates by means of, a classification of the lands therein for the purpose for which they are best suited and by the co-ordination of all such public improvements. utilities, services and amenities as are not limited by the boundaries of the district of any one local authority or do not relate exclusively to the development of any one such district. Every regional scheme should be preceded by a comprehensive survey of the natural resources of the area and of the present and potential uses and values of all lands within the region in relation to national, regional or local public utilities, services and amenities. This work is generally divided into a history of the past, a survey of the present and a plan for the future. There is no obligation on the part of any local authority to adhere to the provisions of any regional scheme. Its purpose is to serve as a guide to the several local authorities within the area in relation to the conservation and development of the public utilities, services, industries and amenities. Any two or more adjoining local authorities may of their own moton or on the recommendation of the Town Planning Board resolve to unite for the purpose of preparing a regional scheme but the resolution to become effective must first be gazetted and the area defined by the notice. In fixing the boundaries regard shall be had to natural geographical boundaries and to common social and economic interests. They should as far as possible be naturally and economically homogeneous units.

PREPARATION OF SCHEME

"The committee for the preparation of the scheme consists of representa- ’ fives of the local authorities in the reI gion appointed as follow: Each borI ough of not less than 10.000 population | shall appoint two members, every ether borough, every county and every I independent town board. one mem-, ber. If any local, authority fails to appoint its member, after being called on to do so by the Town Planning Board the Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister of Internal Affairs may make such appointment. “There is ample power given to' the committee to co-opt any person who may be possessed of expert knowledge of advantage to the .committee in the j exercise of its function. After its con-| stitution the committee should prepare] an estimate of the expenditure involv-j ed in the preparation of a regional scheme and submit it to the several local authorities concerned and without their consent the estimated expenditure may not exceed 1 'soth of a penny in the pound on the capital value of all rateable property within the region. The Town Planning Board is to declare by notice in the Gazette that one of the local authorities shall be the principal local authority and be responsible for the expenditure. The contribution of the several authorities is to be determined by agreement or. in default, by the Governor-General after due enquiry.

“It is generally accepted that where joint action is necessary in preparing a regional plan, it should not be made statutory but should take the form of an advisory plan. Joint action is much more likely under such conditions and more will be accomplished. From what I have said you will have seen that in New Zealand we have envisaged town planning in advance of regional planning—we are not alone in this. In a number of countries this has been attempted but as a result of experience the more generally accepted practice is to proceed from the regional to the more local or town plan.” (To Be Continued.)