The decision of Environment Court Judge Kelvin Reid, of Christchurch, said the Bannockburn Responsible Development Incorporated Society last year appealed a Central Otago District Council decision to grant subdivision and land-use consent to the DJ Jones and NR Searell Family Trust for a 26-lot housing development at 88 Terrace St in Bannockburn.
The 17.6ha site was on an elevated alluvial terrace on the eastern side of Bannockburn, about 60m above the Bannockburn Inlet, the decision said. It was a largely undeveloped block crossed by informal walking tracks and bordered by existing development along Bannockburn Rd and Terrace St, it said.
The society argued the development did not properly respect a restriction designed to protect the integrity and landscape character of the Bannockburn escarpment.
The decision said the revised scheme largely retained the overall layout and number of residential lots but included changes aimed at reducing landscape and visual impacts.
These included reducing the number of building platforms fully within the building line restriction from nine to seven, and decreasing those partly within the restriction from three to two.
The revised design also removed part of a planned loop road, relocated a right of way, adjusted lot sizes and positioned several building platforms behind a natural ridgeline to reduce their visibility from the Bannockburn Inlet and surrounding area.
The changes addressed concerns about landscape character while still providing a workable residential subdivision, the February 19 decision said. — Allied Media
