Dream 'shattered' by roading plan

A Taieri resident says his vision to restore and establish a family business on a Riccarton Rd property established by his great-great-grandfather almost 160 years ago has been shattered by road-widening plans.

Brendon Johnston said it "felt like coming home" when, three and a-half years ago, he bought back part of Dryfield, the property farmed by members of his family until about 25 years ago.

He and his wife, Michelle, moved into the house built by his grandfather and their children played under two huge cypress trees planted more than 100 years ago.

The family had planned to restore the house and gardens, develop a bed and breakfast and later open the grounds for weddings and functions, Mr Johnston said.

But Dunedin City Council plans to widen the road and create a bridle path for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders would see almost 600sq m taken from the frontage of the property, he told commissioners at a hearing yesterday.

The council has applied for a "notice of requirement" to take land from 33 properties along a 4.2km stretch on the west side of the road between Gladstone Rd South and State Highway 87.

While residents would be paid market value for their lost land and would have fences, entranceways and hedges reinstated, many are passionately opposed to the $5.4 million plan, saying it is not needed, too expensive, will bring more heavy traffic and will destroy 100-year-old hedgerows and other amenity features.

The hearing began in Mosgiel on Tuesday before commissioners Allan Cubitt, John Lumsden and Peter Constantine.

It will finish today.

Mr Johnston said an 11m-wide strip would be lost from the front of his property, directly in front of his home.

The cypress trees would be outside the boundary and no longer owned by the family.

"This particular property and lifestyle we worked hard for, and the vision we had, has been been shattered and we will not pursue our plans.

"The stress this has placed on my family, health, marriage and lifestyle has been too immense to handle."

The commissioners made a site visit on Tuesday afternoon.

To submitter Pat Scott, Mr Lumsden said yesterday the group had stopped at various points and "frankly, it was a scary business.

"We were not comfortable at all."

"The road needs to be improved, wouldn't you agree?" he asked Mrs Scott.

She replied that it did, but said taking property frontages did not seem the right way to achieve that.

Her preferred option was to pipe the drains and fill in the ditches on the side of the road and construct the bridle path over the top.

Like several other submitters, Mrs Scott said the council's future intentions should be an important consideration for the commissioners.

The council has said it wants to build the bridle path to improve safety for drivers and other road users, but Mrs Scott said she believed the council's ultimate objective was to change the status of Riccarton Rd from a local collector road to an arterial road, then to move State Highway 87 from Gordon Rd to Riccarton Rd.

"Perhaps [the council feels] that once the road is widened the plan change will be easier to achieve," she said.

Brian Miller, a horticulturalist and president of the Riccarton Rd West Safety Society, said the proposal was being promoted to improve health and safety for road users but would have a negative health and safety impact on "those of us who live and work along the road 24/7".

The proposal would wipe 2m from the frontage of his property and would severely impact the hydroponic lettuce-growing operation he and his wife ran, he said.

Once the boundary hedge had been relocated, there would be only a 2m-wide strip in front of his greenhouse and this would affect servicing and deliveries which, because of the internal design and layout of the greenhouse, had to occur at the Riccarton Rd end.

The changes would also affect customers' ability to buy from his roadside stall as the council had informed him no stopping or parking would be allowed on the bridle path.

Moving the boundary would be detrimental to the profitability of the business, and the opportunity to sell it as a going concern, as well as impacting on their residential lifestyle, he said.

Mr Miller said he and his wife had offered to sell the entire property to the council, but staff were not interested.

Sue Cleave said she and her husband Keith had moved to Riccarton Rd because it was in the country.

"We chose to live on a little old collector road, not a highway, or a heavy traffic bypass, or in the middle of the city."

- allison.rudd@odt.co.nz