Traffic
According to Council, the current plan is for the access to the land to be from the Russley Road side BUT…there is a high likelihood that the Russley Road access won’t be permitted by the New Zealand Road Transport Authority So access will be from Hawthornden Road That means our roads will have a large traffic inflow. As well as domestic cars there will be an influx of heavy goods vehicles What will be the impact on school children, noise levels, road safety and the general feel of the locality?
Parking
The Council is supposed to put parking spaces in the industrial/business zone But from experience, these won’t be adequate: Pay and display Insufficient space So the alternative for the employees and visitors? To park up our streets…
How does the proposed rezoning of NWRA Area 3 compare to the Airport Business Park, 92 Russley Road (home of Smith & Smith, Telecom, etc)?
Pollution
Air quality Noise levels Night-time lighting annoyance Loss of existing separation from current industrial/business and airport activities. Population density Ecological impacts (birds) Visual obstruction – a concrete jungle Socio-cultural: loss of suburban identity Soil Subsoil water table damage Odour Toxicity?
Water Supply and Sewerage
The water pressure is already weak Greater demand for water means weaker pressure Inadequate storm water drainage in the area Increased chances of system failure.
Avonhead Cemetery
How far will this be from the boundary of the business zone?
Negative Effect on House Prices
Why did you buy a property in this locality? What factors influenced you? How will these factors be affected by having an industry/business park nearby? The question is: do you think an industry/business park would add or detract from living in the area? Compare this with other localities that are in business zones: Northwood William Pickering Drive Hornby.
A Mini Case-study: Hornby vs. Rolleston
Rolleston: the industrial and residential areas are independent of each other Hornby: the residential zone is surrounded by the industrial area The difference in the average house prices in these two suburbs speaks for itself Which suburb are we going to be like?
In the Council Planner’s own words…
“ Since 2009 there have been several privately initiated plan-change requests seeking to rezone land within greenfield areas to accommodate residential and business growth. This situation has been exacerbated since the earthquakes. Council senior planner Mark Stevenson said there had been two private plan changes approved in the Hornby area and there was likely to be pressure for the council to notify further privately requested plan changes. “These are likely to have potentially significant cumulative adverse effects on the environment, and more particularly on stormwater and transport infrastructure, unless there is a development framework in place for this important growth area,” he warned.” – Source: Fairfax NZ News 02/02/2013