Carter Group has continued to oppose land being rezoned for housing next to one of its subdivisions in Rolleston.

Through its subsidiaries, Rolleston West Ltd and Two Chain Road Ltd, Carters has opposed the rezoning of about 66ha of rural land on the edge of Rolleston, near the intersection of Selwyn and Edwards Rds.

Lawyer for Carter Group Jo Appleyard told a hearing on the rezoning last week it was “out-of-sequence” with its Westhaven subdivision.

“The position is that the present request is unanticipated and out of sequence. It has not been demonstrated to contribute to a well-functioning urban environment,” Appleyard said.

The Westhaven subdivision would surround the land on two sides.

Appleyard said its position was not that the land could never be developed, but that it should not be developed at this time.

Rolly Central Ltd wants to rezone 66ha of land (red) for housing. It is surrounded by a Carter Group development (blue). Photo: Supplied

However, Rolly Central Ltd planner Jonathan Clease, whose company is seeking the rezone, said the site is ideally positioned to support residential growth.

“The combination of the site being a logical infill development within a gap in Rolleston’s existing urban form, combined with the lack of notable site features or constraints, has resulted in the variation being remarkably uncontroversial for a plan change of this scale,” Clease said.

Appleyard said there is no guarantee Westhaven will be developed exactly as planned and that this may affect the transport connections Rolly Central is planning to rely on.

Clease said the first stage would start on the Selwyn Rd side of the site to ensure traffic connections were established.

Selwyn Water Ltd did not oppose the rezoning, but was concerned about the proximity of housing to its planned
wastewater pump station on Edwards Rd.

“On this basis, there is potential for both adverse health-based effects and nuisance odour complaints from residents occupying upper storeys within 240m of the Edwards Rd pump station.”

Council planner Craig Friedel believed it was appropriate to rezone the land now, but restrict how many units could be developed to ensure the infrastructure was in place first, which could be done through the schedule of amendments.

The decision on whether to approve the rezoning request now sits with independent commissioner Graham Taylor.

His recommendation will then be provided to councillors for a final decision.