Selwyn_Times: December 06, 2023

Selwyn Times Wednesday December 6 2023
8
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
The arguments for and against
A bid to rezone land
for a 27ha business
park backing onto the
border of the Lincoln
township failed in
August. Now the
developers are trying to
overturn the decision
in the Environment
Court. Daniel Alvey
backgrounds the
plan and the conflict
between neighbours
over it
WHEN JILL Gordon and Ross
Thomas first found out about
a plan to rezone their land to
industrial they were caught
completely off guard.
They live on a 5.37ha block on
Springs Rd. Their neighbours
Lynn and Carol Townsend, Rick
and Diane Fraser, and Malcolm
and Lynn Stewart are trying
to have the land around them
rezoned for a 27ha business
park.
The group argues Lincoln
needs industrial land, with no
land in the town currently zoned
for it. They say a business park
will provide employment and
business opportunities.
On December 1, 2020, Gordon
attended a meeting with the
Stewarts, Fraser, Townsend and
consultant Fiona Aston to discuss
a rezoning submission to the District
Plan review, which involved
subdividing the land into large
lot residential.
Gordon said Townsend invited
them to discuss the potential
rezoning of the four properties.
“They talked about how many
houses they could harvest from
the land,” Gordon told Selwyn
Times.
At the meeting, Gordon said
she and Thomas did not want to
be to be involved at their stage of
life, and did not want their block
to be part of any rezoning. She
made it clear they did not want
to subdivide their property. But if
in the future they changed their
mind they would be happy with
large lot residential sections as it
LOCATION: Jill Gordon and Ross Thomas look out onto farmland, which would change if
their neighbours’ business park appeal bid is successful.
PHOTO: DANIEL ALVEY
would be most in keeping with
the existing land use, she said.
Townsend’s account differs. He
said Gordon and Thomas were
happy with the rezoning but
did not want to subdivide their
property.
“They were quite happy
to come along for the ride,”
Townsend said.
Gordon disputes that: “We said
quite clearly we did not want to
be involved.”
At the meeting how the submission
would be funded was
discussed. Gordon told the group
she and Thomas did not want to
be involved and they would not
put any money towards it.
Townsend told Selwyn Times
he and the Stewarts are funding
the submission.
Gordon said no mention of
industrial zoning was brought up
at the meeting.
The land is zoned rural.
Eight days after the meeting
the Townsends, Frasers and
Stewarts put in a submission into
the council’s District Plan review
– which Gordon and Thomas say
they were unaware of. Townsend
disputes this.
The submission, which has
now changed, presented three
options – 39ha of land rezoned to
all residential, all industrial, or a
mixture of the two.
Townsend told Selwyn Times
the desire was to have a mix of
the two split down the middle
by transmission lines which run
‘I know people can do it
legally but actually I find
it morally repugnant that
people can actually do that
and not pick up the phone’
– Jill Gordon
across the block.
Fast forward nearly two years,
Gordon and Thomas had a visit
from Townsend who asked if
he could have their property
surveyed.
Thomas did not think much of
it and agreed. But when Gordon
found out later that day, she
and Thomas asked Townsend
for more specifics and why the
surveyors needed to look at their
property.
Townsend said he was looking
at options for his property, which
included using it for commercial
businesses.
Gordon and Thomas allowed
the survey, under the impression
if anything was going to happen
Townsend would notify them.
Townsend told the Selwyn
Times he could not recall the details
of this conversation but did
remember having a survey team
at the property around that time.
He thought he showed them a
copy of the plan.
Gordon said no plan was
shown, and the submission was
not mentioned.
When the survey team arrived
and started taking photos, which
included the inside of the couple’s
shed, Gordon became concerned,
so she went onto the council
website and found the December
8, 2020 submission.
“I started searching on the
council proposed District Plan
submissions and that’s where I
found it, I found the plan,” Gordon
said.
“We were gobsmacked.”
Gordon said the group should
have told them about the plan
and submission.
“I know people can do it legally
but actually I find it morally
repugnant that people can actually
do that and not pick up the
phone.”
Townsend
told the Selwyn
Times he had
no obligation to
inform Gordon
and Thomas.
“I reject all
such comments
because I was
not morally
obliged to do
anything,” Townsend said.
Lynn
Townsend
Gordon said they had got along
with the Townsends, Frasers and
Stewarts, but that changed when
she discovered the December 8
submission.
Now Gordon will not talk to
any of them. Thomas will only
speak to them about shared water
supply matters.
When Gordon discovered the
December 8 submission it was
too late to object to it. So she
emailed the council expressing
concern and opposition. The
council responded the same day,
acknowledged their opposition
and added it to a report being
prepared for a hearings panel
which was due to consider the
submission in February this year.
The council also informed the
group consultant, Aston Consultants,
about Gordon and Thomas’
opposition.
But by early February this year,
just weeks before the hearing, the
plan had changed significantly.
The group had amended the
original submission.
Gordon and Thomas’ property
was removed from the rezoning.
Three blocks owned by the Long
family along Tancreds Rd were
added and all of the land would
be zoned industrial.
This became known as option
B, the 27ha business park
currently being appealed to the
Environment Court.
Townsend told Selwyn Times
the changes were made because
of the objections from Gordon
and Thomas and Crown owned
research institutes Plant and
Food Research and AgResearch.
The research farms provided
written evidence opposing the
submission prior to the hearing
taking place.