Fears over new subdivision
RESIDENTS of Outram are concerned their water supply will be contaminated should a development on the edge of the town be approved.
The Dunedin City Council is consulting over changes to its district plan to encourage the building of more homes in the city.
Developer CC Otago has applied to build up to 133 houses at the corner of Formby St and Huntly Rd in Outram.
The developer has applied to have the area rezoned from rural Taieri plain zone to township and settlement zone to allow the houses to be built.
But the site’s neighbours say the area is totally unsuitable for the proposed development.
Outram resident Margaret Henry said the area was floodprone, and additional septic tanks or waste dispersal would threaten the town’s water supply.
‘‘[A flood] washes out the septic tanks, it gets into the inlets and outer flows . . . and there’s a mess of cleanup.’’
The developer’s submission said houses would use septic tanks if larger sections were approved, and wastewater would be sent to a neighbouring property for treatment and dispersal if a more highdensity plan was approved.
Another issue was the quality of the land, and Mrs Henry said it was ‘‘outrageous’’ to build houses on land that historically was a hub of market gardens and food production.
The land proposed for rezoning was graded as level 1 highclass soil, and only 15% of the soil in New Zealand had that classification, Mrs Henry said.
Covid19 had highlighted the need for food security, and loss of good soil for growing food was putting that in danger.
Outram resident Dianne Webster has lived in the area for 28 years and said she had seen a change in the community in recent years as subdivisions were built on its outskirts.
The township did not have the amenities needed to service the extra houses, she said.
‘‘We have one shop, one garage, one library, one church, one school — how’s it going to affect everyone in Outram? It is horrific.’’
Residents of other neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Dunedin are also concerned about potential development near their homes.
Up to 229 lots feature in a proposed development between North Taieri and McMeakin Rds in Abbotsford.
The rezoning application from developer Wendy Campbell is seeking to have the area rezoned from rural hill slopes zone to a mixture of general residential, lowdensity residential and recreational zones.
Resident Geoff Knight said he was concerned about increased traffic past Abbotsford School, in North Taieri Rd.
The road was very narrow and there were already issues with parents collecting children, and the increased traffic from the extra houses would put further pressure on the situation, he said.
A leaflet was anonymously dropped into mailboxes along North Taieri Rd which said the subdivision would cause a ‘‘conservative estimate’’ of 500 extra car trips on the road daily.
It also said the land was unsuitable for housing as it had a history of coal mines and slips.
A geotechnical assessment was included as part of the developer’s submission and identified areas with these hazards in the proposed area.
Plans included with the developer’s submission showed these areas would be used for a mixture of parkland and native bush rather than houses.
Abbotsford is another area to have a rezoning request.
A submission asks for two sections northeast of Malvern St to switch from a rural zone to a largelot residential zone.
Residents in affected areas have until Thursday to send the council a submission opposing the changes in their neighbourhood.
Earlier in the week, residents of Chain Hills Rd in Mosgiel raised concerns about increased traffic and loss of their neighbourhood’s rural character if a development was approved near their homes.
However, the Gladstone Family Trust, which has applied for the area to be rezoned, said ‘‘affordable views with great views and great sun should be available to all’’.
A spokesman for the trust said this was achievable by building on smaller section sizes, and it was keen to start building as quickly as possible should the rezoning be successful.
It also intended to bring more amenities to the area with walkways and reticulated services, including telecommunications infrastructure, added to the neighbourhood.
There are also plans to plant native bush in gullies on the site, and retain open pastures on areas of the site too steep for housing.
It said it accepted that it was likely the council would receive submissions in opposition to its plans and it welcomed all feedback received.