Horse training ‘difficult’

Turning a road into a manifestation of the urban-rural divide would kill off the ability to train horses there, despite that being what the land is zoned for, commissioners have been told.

But planners say they have no evidence to show training cannot take place.

Hearings continued yesterday on a proposal to rezone land to the west of Palmerston North from race training to residential.

Bordered by State Highway 56, Te Wanaka Rd and the Mangaone Stream, the area, dubbed Kikiwhenua, would provide enough room for about 220 houses.

A theme throughout submissions to the hearing has been a quirk that would result in the eastern side of Te Wanaka Rd becoming residential, but the western side staying zoned for race training.

Tabitha Jonson said she and her husband had planned to do horse training on their Te Wanaka Rd property, but put this on hold when development was proposed in 2008.

Jonson told the commissioners how she once put out her rubbish bin, but made a small noise, causing a jockey to fall from a horse.

Although residents on the road knew to be quiet, new residents might not and the increase in traffic and people would make it difficult to train horses, she said.

Te Wanaka Rd resident Neil Wright said the council had failed to properly consult with land owners over the effect on race trainers.

A lane used by horse trainers to get racehorses safely to the Awapuni track would be taken out if the area was rezoned, meaning horses either walking on the road or more traffic due to the use of horse floats, he said.

That, along with the increase in noise, raised animal welfare and health and safety problems.

Grant Binns, who represented his son’s building and development company Milmac Homes, said the company owned property on the western side of Te Wanaka Rd and SH56. There had been plans to have an equine rehabilitation business there, but horse owners had said they would not send their animals there if there was a residential development across the road, he said.

Council planner Keegan Aplin-thane said there was nothing showing horse training could not take place after any housing development.

The loss of the horse track was the only change, he said.

Hearing chairman Chris Mitchell said there was clearly a conflict between the council and residents over the effect on horses, which may require an independent expert.