Ashburton’s deputy mayor wants a rethink on the growing number of parks and reserves in the district.
By Jonathan Leask, Local Democracy Reporter
Deputy Mayor Richard Wilson said the new subdivisions popping up in the district are lumping the council with the extra parks and reserve land it doesn’t need and can't afford.
He said he would prefer quality over quantity.
It was a discussion point he raised during the deliberations for the draft Open Spaces Strategy on Tuesday, which sets out what to do with the 429 hectares of open spaces over the next 10 years.
Wilson said he wanted to look at how much more open space could be added and consider the extra cost.
There is already pressure on council budgets to afford to maintain and upgrade its reserves and parks, which will only get tougher under rates capping, he said.
Wilson said he doesn’t want unnecessary new parks and reserves, from developments, to further dilute the money it has to spend on its parks and reserves.
“The horrible sections in the corner are given to the council as open spaces, and we mow for the next 150 years, its huge cost to the council.”
He pointed to the example of the new Coniston Park subdivision, rezoning 16 hectares of residential land for around 160 new homes in close proximity to Argyle Park, an existing 117-hectare open space.
“All the resources should be going into [Argyle Park].”
Open spaces manager Ian Soper said his team are involved in the planning process, providing feedback on subdivision plan applications.
Their feedback for Coniston Park was the council “do not require land” in the subdivision, he said.
Mill Stream flows through the development, “so there will be an esplanade reserve but not a recreation-style reserve”.
“That’s where we make the choice to take the money, the financial contribution, as opposed to the land contribution, because we have still got sufficient provision [in that area].
“If we take the option where we don’t take the land, we need to then focus on addressing the additional demand the subdivision puts on existing sites.
“We do strategically look at all subdivision applications with the lens of do we need it.
“We don’t want to take on future liability just for the sake of it.”
Wilson suggested the potential of making the financial contribution as the preferred option going forward.
Community and open spaces general manager Toni Durham said that would require changes to the district plan, but under the RMA reform, there is a freeze on such plan changes.
Wilson went on to question what happens if the council can no longer afford to maintain its parks and reserves in line with the “high expectations” and aspirational strategy, especially with rates capping on the horizon
Durham said it will require the council and community to reconsider any changes to the budgets or levels of service
Wilson, the self-confessed “roading fan”, also took the opportunity to reaffirm his apprehension at the growing open spaces budget.
He said a “balance needs to be kept” in the relationship between reserves and roading.
“To get to our open spaces, you've got to go down the roads first.
“There’s no point bouncing down a shingle road to get to a beautiful reserve.
A revised open spaces strategy will come back to the council for adoption on May 20.
Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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