A bit late

I read Bill Fenton’s ‘Facing the future’ (letters April 18) with interest.

A pity Bill and a small group of businessman developers with land along SH10, Kerikeri and Waipapa roads didn’t think more futuristically 12 years ago when they opposed a growth plan for Kerikeri/Waipapa, opting instead for the status quo, which was continuation of unfettered development permitted under the district plan.

Refusal to positively contribute to that planning for growth exercise then has resulted in those large slabs of land being carved up for the 3000 square metre residential sections Bill refers to in his letter, and which he now thinks should stop.

It’s resulted in the ribbon development that has occurred along our arterial routes, making the cost of a decent reticulated sewerage system damned nigh unaffordable. And it’s resulted in Kerikeri’s daily traffic congestion woes.

Not a day goes by when I get caught up in the traffic that I don’t think of Bill and his group. If only they had supported one of a number of alternative ring road routes to the existing one way in and one way out of Kerikeri option.

I wish the new Focus Kerikeri group the best of luck, and I’d like to give them a little advice based on years of frustration trying to get a decent growth plan for Kerikeri/Waipapa over the line. Try not to get sidetracked by focusing on yet another sports complex that will only add to our traffic congestion woes and deplete our much-needed infrastructure reserves. Be careful about who you listen to. Focus on a decent plan by putting a stop to the carving off of elite soils for large residential sections and a CBD traffic plan that darned well works for its community. JILL SMITH

Kerikeri