Council adopted a decision on this proposal at its meeting on 5 April 2023.
Following a public consultation on whether to sell part of Adderstone Reserve for residential development, Council has decided to instead keep the portion off Abby Road reserve as green space and retain the portion of Pacific Drive until it has more information on the future needs of the growing suburb and its facilities.
Public submissions contained a mix of views with 20 wanting to preserve the whole reserve, 11 wanting just part of the reserve preserved, and 16 in support of housing.
Elected members also took into account a submission from Green Corridors against putting housing on the land. The Green Corridors group works to regenerate gullies in Aokautere.
At the Strategy & Finance Committee meeting on 22 March, officers from the parks team presented new information from a recent Community Places Research Report on the provision of community facilities in Palmerston North. The research found that there is a relative under-supply of community facilities in Aokautere. It was also noted that the medium-density housing area proposed for Aokautere is now larger, and there would be more demand for open space recreation.
Council's decision leaves open the possibility of using the smaller Pacific Drive portion of the reserve for the development of community facilities, or new housing at a future date.
The proposal
We're asking for your views on the possible use of part of Adderstone Reserve for housing.
Adderstone Reserve is 6.8ha in total. We're proposing to rezone part of the reserve, followed by the legal disposal of 1.73ha for housing. The remainder would be kept as a reserve. This would allow for space for new homes and roading while keeping the gully land and some of the open space for community use.
This consultation is being held alongside the larger proposed plan change for the Aokautere Growth Area. The proposed change to Adderstone Reserve is a separate process under the Reserves Act with its own public consultation. You can let us know what you think by making a submission before 4pm, Monday 5 September.
Most of the reserve will stay as recreation space
Adderstone Reserve is currently zoned into three different portions in the District Plan. The Pacific Drive portion of the reserve is zoned for housing, whereas the other two parts are a mix of Conservation and Amenity Zone and Recreation Zone (see first image in the photo gallery at the bottom of the page).
The gully area of Adderstone Reserve has been planted out with native trees as part of Palmy’s Green Corridors network and contains a popular walkway. Under the proposed change the gully and walkway portion of the reserve would be retained (second image in photo gallery).
The reserve also includes two grassed areas:
- One on Pacific Drive (3,300 square metres). This is already zoned as residential and we are proposing it be used for housing.
- 2.4 ha of flat area off the end of Abby Road. This has never been developed for public use and is currently used to grow hay. We are proposing to use 1.4 ha of this area for housing, and to keep one hectare for a neighbourhood reserve.
More details on the current use and zoning of Adderstone Reserve and the proposed changes can be found in the consultation information below.
Consultation document: Adderstone Reserve(PDF, 994KB)