Council notifies zone change to part of former Copeland Street Reserve

Hutt City Council is about to notify a District Plan change that will rezone the Council-owned south western part of the former Copeland Street Reserve in Epuni from General Recreation to General Residential – Medium Density.

This would be the same zoning classification as neighbouring properties. Council would then sell the land, which would be used for residential development. The Department of Conservation, last year, agreed to revoke the land’s reserve status.

Council also proposes developing the open land, to the north of the area to be rezoned, into a park*. This land currently has narrow visibility and access from the street.

The changes would include rezoning two properties on Hall Crescent, which would allow the buildings to be removed and the land to become part of the new park. This would make the recreational land more visible from the street and create a broad entrance from Hall Crescent, making it more accessible to more people.

Under the proposed park development, this area would also accommodate a new children’s playground, enclosed by pool fencing to provide a safe and secure area for young children. Work on the park would coincide with the development of housing on the south west block to be rezoned, which if the rezoning proposals are approved by Council following consultation, could start within two years.

Hutt City Council Divisional Manager Parks and Gardens Bruce Hodgins says consultation on the land goes back as far as 2012. He says considerable thought has gone into evaluating the effects of rezoning, particularly the impacts on existing local residents and whether there is sufficient recreational land for local residents.

A large part of the land was used by Lower Hutt Ladies Bowls Club, which relocated in 2012. Under the proposed changes, the 5300 square metres of recreational land available to the public would be comparable to the area available for public use when the bowling club had exclusive use of part of the land.

In addition, the area is also well served by ample recreational space at nearby Mitchell Park, the Hall Crescent Reserve and land around Epuni Community Hall.

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