If the Green school of crystals was not evidence enough of the crazy world the Greens think we should all be living in, then the latest bit of madness from local councils should have us all really worried. It seems that councils all across New Zealand are now required to scrap planning rules that require car parks to be placed close to new housing or business developments.
Yes. You read that right.
A move to free up more land for new builds is likely to see fewer driveways and garages in modern housing, in a move some say could have New Zealand looking like Coronation Street.
The change comes as the Government looks to encourage development, in part by freeing up land held up by car parks, under its new National Policy Statement for urban development.
I know these measures apply in cities overseas, however most of those, such as Amsterdam, Berlin or Barcelona have dense populations and good transport systems. Auckland has the spread of Los Angeles, Wellington is much denser but is built on hills and most other NZ towns and cities have limited public transport. Let’s face it; with a population of about 5 million, 1.5 million of whom live in our biggest city, there really is a limited call for public transport in most places; this is a reality that the government, and particularly the Greens, will simply not accept.
Councils in many places are dying to get rid of cars too, but they are not doing their ratepayers any favours.
Discussion on the guidelines cropped up at a Marlborough District Council meeting last week, with council strategic planner Emma Toy later confirming houses would no longer need to make space for two car parks in a garage or driveway.
Not being required to build garages or driveways could free up about 5 to 10 per cent more sections per new development, but cars would be forced to park on the road, which was a hazard.
Developers might have to widen streets to accommodate cars.
“I think it works in a central location, where they’ve got good public transport and people aren’t expected to have more than one car on the road … I don’t know how appropriate it is here.
Developers won’t widen streets; they probably won’t be allowed to by councils. This will become a major stumbling block for the sale of houses, as even those who use public transport regularly will almost certainly still need private transport for family outings or minor issues like grocery shopping and taking the kids to sport.
RLA Construction Ltd and RLA Developments Ltd owner Richard Anderson said he would not pick up housing development projects that left out car parks, as these would be harder to sell.
“People living in Marlborough just wouldn’t pick that up. Marlborough doesn’t have the public transport to support that sort of thing … Most families have one car or two,” he said.
I cannot pretend to know the Marlborough area that well, but I have relatives who live in Blenheim and I am fairly sure that public transport there is limited. The Blenheim bus service doesn’t even run on Sundays. I think most people living there will need to drive to get around most of the time.
This doesn’t stop the council though.
Blenheim-based architect Tim Barton said up to a quarter of a small section could be taken up by a garage and driveway.
But in older European cities, properties had no space built in for a car or garage, and everyone walked or took public transport.
“We know what this looks like, and it’s not New Zealand.
No, it is not New Zealand, and many of those European cities have a larger population than our entire country. Think of London, where the population is in the region of 10 million. That has a good transport system, but New Zealand simply cannot afford to put on trains and buses that run empty most of the time… always assuming you can find drivers, which is already an issue in some areas.
Council environmental policy manager Pere Hawes said at the meeting last week the council would remove the rules from its plan in the next four to eight weeks, in line with other updates.
It was not required to consult the public about the rule change.
Well, there you are. No public consultation. It will simply be done. I am glad I live in a subdivision where there is little or no land available for building because we have absolutely no public transport whatsoever. As if that isn’t bad enough for prospective builders, the subdivision is built on a steep hill. Imagine getting your groceries home with no car and no public transport. It is madness and it will backfire badly on those blinkered fools who want to stop us from driving cars, no matter what the consequences.
This is why we do not want Greens anywhere near power. They will make us all live in caves, but those who rent their caves will have to have double glazing and insulation. And no parking.
But the Green fantasy is infiltrating itself into our way of life. It really must be stopped before our that is gone forever.
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