Time to look to other areas to sort housing

IT puzzles me that a city that possesses the largest hinterland in New Zealand is choosing to intensify its housing footprint within the existing urban precinct of Dunedin itself.

This will result in a loss of green and open urban spaces, dwellings being jammed together ‘‘cheek and jowl’’, more cars parked on the side of suburban streets, greater traffic congestion and an intensification of persons per square kilometre — all resting on a creaking urban infrastructure.

Certainly, the relaxing of the consenting process and the proposed zone changes ought to be embraced if this facilitates the building of homes in greater numbers and at greater pace to meet an essential demand.

The council ought to be focusing such new growth to the north, south and west of the city enabling new homes to be built at our outlying villages — Outram, Middlemarch, Waitati and Waikouaiti to name a few.

With good transport links to the city, a 20, 30 or 40minute commute will not prevent people to come and go from the city for work and leisure and will bring with it an economic and social boon for these places. We have the room to grow outwards — not on top of one another. Mark Ryan

Maryhill