Taylor Baines

Lake Hood - second stage development: Proposed Plan Change Social Impact Assessment Report (Final) prepared by Taylor Baines & Associates, Christchurch

October 2008 Taylor Baines

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION...... -1- 1.1 The basic proposal...... -1- 1.2 The contract brief...... -1- 1.3 The approach adopted to this Social Impact Assessment...... -1- 1.4 The structure of the remainder of this report...... -2-

2 THE PROPOSAL...... -3- 2.1 The proponent...... -3- 2.2 The Plan Change proposed...... -3- 2.3 Physical development sequence...... -3- 2.4 Associated changes - gravel extraction from the Ashburton River...... -5-

3 THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT...... -6- 3.1 Ashburton and district...... -6- 3.2 Lake Hood and Huntingdon Park...... -10- 3.3 Rural neighbourhood of Lake Hood...... -12- 3.4 Recreational visitors to Lake Hood...... -13-

4 ASSESSMENT OF LIKELY SOCIAL EFFECTS...... -15- 4.1 An overview of potential contributions to social well being...... -15- 4.2 Social effects and affected groups...... -16- 4.3 Discussion of social effects...... -18-

5 CONCLUSIONS...... -29-

APPENDICES...... -30-

Appendix 1 Summary of consultation as part of this assessment...... -31-

Appendix 2 Huntingdon Park residents’ survey...... -33-

Appendix 3 The social wellbeing framework...... -37-

Appendix 4 Trends in usually resident population and permanently occupied dwellings ...... -38- Taylor Baines

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The basic proposal

The basic proposal involves a proposed Plan Change which would allow the second phase of development at Lake Hood within an enlarged Aquatic Park Zone.

The proponent for this Plan Change is the Ashburton Aquatic Park Charitable Trust (AAPCT) which owns and operates the existing Lake Hood facilities. The beneficiaries of the Trust are the general public/ratepayers of Ashburton.

1.2 The contract brief

The purpose of the social impact assessment (SIA) is to provide expert evidence for the Plan Change that is proposed in support of the Lake Hood expansion proposal.

Social impact assessment specifically sets out to examine the full range of potential effects - social benefits as well as adverse social effects, short-term and long-term effects.

In simple terms, the objectives of this SIA would be to assemble a component of the case evaluating the proposed Plan Change, based on social analysis, and to screen for potential risks of adverse social effects that may need addressing by way of avoidance, remedy or mitigation.

1.3 The approach adopted to this Social Impact Assessment

The approach to this SIA involved a mixture of information-gathering techniques including document and statistical reviews12, key informant interviews , a survey of the existing Huntingdon Park residents34, attendance at a community consultation meeting at Lake Hood , discussions with other technical consultants5 and with the client representatives.

Taylor Baines has adopted a social wellbeing framework6 as the basis for assessing the social effects of this proposal. This framework has been adopted in numerous other SIAs which have been accepted as evidence in commissioner hearings and Environment Court hearings.

1 Recreational use survey by Rob Greenaway & Associates; Inter-censal population trends from national census carried out by Statistics NZ.

2 Refer to Appendix 1 for a description of the scope of key informant interviews.

3 18 responses to a postal questionnaire. Refer to Appendix 2 for a summary of survey responses and a sample questionnaire.

4 18 June 2008, at the Lake House.

5 Particularly regarding recreation, traffic, noise and economic effects.

6 Refer to Appendix 3 for an explanation of the social well being framework

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1.4 The structure of the remainder of this report

Further sections of this report describe the following -

- The proposal being assessed - Section 2

- The social environment that provides the setting for the proposed development - Section 3

- The Assessment of likely social effects to be expected from the proposal - Section 4

- the Conclusions from this assessment.

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2 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The proponent

The proponent for this Plan Change is the Ashburton Aquatic Park Charitable Trust (AAPCT) which owns and operates the existing public facilities at Lake Hood. The beneficiaries of the Trust are the general public/ratepayers of Ashburton.

2.2 The Plan Change proposed

The proposal by the AAPCT is for a Plan Change which would allow the second phase of development at Lake Hood within an enlarged Aquatic Park Zone.

The purpose of the enlarged Aquatic Park Zone is to permit the extension of the Lake Hood facility by (approximately) doubling the lake area and increasing the number and variety of residential sections and commercial facilities around the Lake. The Lake itself will be a public park available for all time as a place for sport, recreation and leisure.

Physical development of the proposed Park extension would be undertaken under a partnership agreement involving AAPCT, Ashburton Contracting Limited and the landowners of the adjacent Riversdale farming property, whose land will become incorporated into the expanded Park.

2.3 Physical development sequence

A concept outline of the proposal is shown in Figure 1 on the following page.

The full extent of the proposed development involves some 280-300 additional residential lots, including a ‘village centre’, and ~50-70 rural-residential sections (mix of 1-10 acres). Ultimately the total number of residential lots, including the existing 150 lots, will cater for ~500 households at Lake Hood. The existing commercial area that incorporates the Lake House Restaurant is expected to continue to provide for commercial activities such as food and beverage outlets and potentially some retail, such as a boating supplies store, although the details of possible activities proposed in this existing zone are not confirmed at this stage.

At full development (500 households; 75% permanent occupancy), the expanded Lake Hood development and its immediate environs is likely to be equivalent in resident population size to about one-third or one-quarter of Tinwald.

The proposal involves a new physical entrance route to the expanded Park, although the existing entrance will remain as a secondary entrance.

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Figure 1: Concept outline of the proposed Lake Hood expansion

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The proposal involves the creation of the expanded lake through the excavation of approximately 5.5 million cu.m. of gravels over a 10-12 year period. The volume of gravel to be extracted is likely to be sufficient to meet the District’s demands for a 15 to 20 year period. It is intended that this gravel be stockpiled in the northwest corner of the Aquatic Park Zone for processing on site. Initial gravel extractions will be used to build bunds around the processing plant for visual and noise screening, and also for creating the flood- protection stop-bank along the river’s edge. It is expected that the processing plant would operate 5.5 days/week; 7 am-6 pm on weekdays and 7.30 am to 1 pm on Saturdays. The processed material will be transported directly to end-use sites in the Ashburton District, or to concrete batching and hotmix plants and contractor yards within Ashburton.

In general, traffic associated with the Aquatic Park Zone (APZ construction, lake users and sub-division residents) will involve travel on roads south of the Ashburton River between the Lake and Tinwald. Traffic associated with the removal of gravel from the site will, in the normal course of events, travel across a newly-constructed river crossing to Nicolls Road7 on the northern side of the Ashburton River and thence on several routes in the roading network, leading either directly into Ashburton along Beach Road, or leading to the industrial park area at the northern end of the town.

2.4 Associated changes - gravel extraction from the Ashburton River

Aggregate supplies for Ashburton District are currently sourced from Ashburton Forks, some 30 km northwest of the town. This gravel extraction also serves a flood management function in the Ashburton River catchment, which is the responsibility of Environment Canterbury.

The traffic movements associated with this existing gravel supply would be replaced by those of the proposed Lake Hood gravel extraction process. Thus, a substantial number of heavy vehicle movements on six days of the week will shift in location from roads on the west side of Ashburton to roads on the east side of the town, with a consequent shift in the location of road-user and adjacent amenity effects.

7 At the present time, Nicolls Road is a paper road leading from Beach Road to the north bank of the River.

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3 THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

3.1 Ashburton and district

Ashburton and Ashburton District is a relevant focus for this social assessment because -

- Lake Hood is located geographically close to Ashburton, being some 7 km from the town; - more than two-thirds (71%) of the current permanent residential community of Huntingdon Park came to the Lake Hood location, having lived previously in Ashburton or Tinwald; - more than half the recreational visitors8 to Lake Hood live in Ashburton (46%) or elsewhere in Ashburton District (9%).

Recent resident population trends9

Ashburton District has experienced a significant growth in resident population in recent years - some 1,940 (+8%) growth in the last inter-censal period between 2001 and 2006. Ashburton town’s contribution to this population growth has been shared between infill development within the town (435,+4%), growth in Tinwald (120, +4%), and peri-urban rural- residential development to the north of Ashburton (350, +29%) and around Tinwald (155, +39%) in several directions.

Against this backdrop, the rural area east and south-east of Tinwald, which incorporates the Lake Hood development, has displayed proportionately exceptional growth (100, +47%).

Similar trends and comparisons are evident in the numbers of permanently occupied dwellings.

It would appear that the Lake Hood residential development has taken some of the pressure off a constrained residential market in Ashburton in recent years10. As noted below, statistical data from the 2006 census suggests that the Lake Hood (Huntingdon Park) development has attracted an exceptional number of professional and higher-income residents. If Lake Hood is viewed as an extension of the Ashburton residential property market, then it provides for a particular niche in the market not previously present.

Ashburton aquatic sports clubs - use of Lake Hood

Several aquatic sports clubs have come into existence or consolidated as a result of the advent of Lake Hood - the Ashburton Sailing Club, the Ashburton Rowing Club, the Water

8 Rob Greenaway & Associates, 2007. Lake Hood Visitor, Resident and School Survey 2007. Commissioned by the Tonkin & Taylor Ltd on behalf of the Ashburton Aquatic Park Charitable Trust.

9 Numbers in the main text have been rounded to the nearest 5 and % figures rounded to the nearest percent. Base census data is provided in Appendix 4. When interpreting the % growth figures, it is important to remember that they refer to base-year numbers that are very different in magnitude between urban and rural locations. Thus absolute numbers have been included in the text for clarity.

10 Ashburton District Development Plan: Planning for the future of our District to 2021. Prepared for the Ashburton District Council by Boffa Miskell Ltd. Adopted 30 June 2005. p.13

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Skiing Club, and the Kayaking Club. Three of them would not be in existence, were it not for the existence of Lake Hood nearby.

Ashburton Sailing Club:

The Club has about 30 members of various ages, drawn from Ashburton and its immediate rural environs. Several children from Huntingdon Park have attended junior training days at the Lake. The Club holds two regattas on the Lake each year as well as mid-week twilight races during the summer. The Club would like to build a club-house at the Lake in future.

Ashburton Rowing Club:

The Club has about 40 members (adults and school-age), and a further 20 club supporters. Club nights are held on Tuesdays, and individuals and crews train at the Lake on weekday mornings as well as weekend mornings in the season. Because of their need for calmer water conditions, rowing crews already experience some degree of conflict with motorised boats which create a wash.

Ashburton Water Skiing Club:

This Club focuses on a high-performance, competitive water-skiing discipline, rather than general recreational water skiing. The Club has about 90 members, and re-located the base of its activities to Lake Hood from Lake Camp, because of the advantages of proximity and reduced wind exposure leading to better water conditions. Club nights are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and the Club hosts up to 10 ski schools at the Lake between December and February, which attract overseas coaches. Club members are already experiencing conflicts with other Lake users because of the specialist equipment they use which is vulnerable to damage by other boaties (congestion) and by vandals. The Club would like to build a club-house at the Lake in future.

Kayak Club:

The Club has about 30 members, made up mostly of multi-sport enthusiasts who use the Lake for kayak training. Club nights are held on Wednesday evenings, and there has been an annual triathlon held at the Lake in recent years. The Lake provides a big enough water body to enable kayakers to achieve adequate training distances, and the canals are useful for training in windy conditions. The nature of the Lake Hood facility has attracted some big names11 to attend public training days, offering free tuition. At busy times, congestion on the Lake can create safety problems for kayakers.

11 Barbara Kendall and Ian Fergusson were mentioned by name.

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Ashburton schools - use of Lake Hood

There are six primary schools12, one intermediate school and one secondary school in Ashburton and Tinwald, and several other rural primary schools nearby13. All these schools took part in a survey of 23 Ashburton District Schools conducted by Rob Greenaway & Associates in June 2007.

At the time of the school survey, four schools in the District were making regular use of Lake Hood for outdoor education activities. Two were Ashburton schools - Ashburton Intermediate and Ashburton College - and two were rural primary schools - Dorie and Longbeach Schools.

Of the 12 schools in the District which had never considered using Lake Hood for outdoor education, three are located in Ashburton itself. However, a large majority of the District schools (20 out of 23) indicated that they would consider using Lake Hood in future if additional facilities, specific courses/areas and services are provided14, as well as access to equipment. More information and a booking system for schools would help schools make better use of this facility.

Ashburton businesses and services - associations with Lake Hood

Commentary in this section has been assembled from interviews with staff at Ashburton District Tourism, Ashburton District Council and a selection of business operators15 in Ashburton and Tinwald.

The creation of Lake Hood involved business opportunities for lake construction. Since its opening, the Lake has created business opportunities for those providing services for events held at Lake Hood (regattas, multi-sport events, business entertainment) such as the hire of equipment, marquees, toilets and catering services, and for those servicing the needs of lake users such as boat sales, boat servicing, boating accessories and boat storage. Other local businesses, such as convenience food, petrol stations, accommodation, cafes and restaurants have benefited to the extent that customer numbers have grown as a result of additional visitors from outside Ashburton. Interviews with individual business operators have confirmed these observations.

To the extent that the Lake Hood development has attracted people from outside the Ashburton District to come to live and work in Ashburton - so far estimated to be at the level of approximately 20% of the households established at Huntingdon Park - then the development can be said to have expanded business opportunities for building and household servicing companies that would not otherwise have occurred in the Ashburton Township and District.

With the exception of dedicated boat storage services, all these business opportunities constitute just part of the activities of existing businesses in Ashburton. Views on whether or

12 Allenton, Ashburton Borough, Ashburton Netherby, Hampstead, St Joseph’s and Tinwald.

13 Longbeach and Wakanui.

14 For a detailed list, refer to Section 4.0 of the Rob Greenaway & Associates 2007 report.

15 Refer to Appendix 1 for a full listing of interviewees.

-8- Taylor Baines not these business opportunities will continue to grow at the existing Lake differ, depending on the nature of the particular business. There is considerable scope for special events to increase in number as the Lake becomes better known amongst the Ashburton community itself. The degree of congestion already being experienced at busy times on the water may constrain further growth in local boat sales and accessories. However, increases in the cost of fuel may encourage higher levels of local recreational use and more local boat storage, even with the Lake as it is now.

Ashburton District’s policies, plans and strategies

Ashburton District’s Long-Term Council Community Plan 2006-201616 contains several priority outcomes which are directly relevant to the Lake Hood development and its proposed expansion. The community identified the following objectives as priorities through the Community Outcomes process (emphasis added):

• Healthy, active people with good access to health services • A district that has a strong sense of identity and people who participate in community life • Employers and education providers work together to develop training programs that meet the needs of the local economy • Cultural, recreational and heritage facilities are maintained and developed to meet community needs • We recognise the importance of access to sustainable water sources and work together to make a water storage facility a reality • Towns and rural areas are developed in a way which enhances the local environment and meets the needs of the community • Water, land and air are managed sustainably • A community with access to quality infrastructure (roading, water, footpaths, wastewater and storm water) that is efficient and reliable • Advocacy by community leaders for identified local concerns and issues at a local, regional and national level

The Ashburton District Development Plan17 noted key influences and issues for the District over its planning period will be -

- increasing population and consideration of where these people will be housed; - labour market changes and the ability of the District to attract and retain people of employment age, requiring consideration of the quality and opportunities offered locally for existing younger people and to attract and retain skilled workers and innovative business people; - the quality of the urban environments as places to live in order to retain existing people and to attract new residents to provide skills and add to the community capacity to grow in new ways for the future viability of the District;

16 http://www.ashburtondc.govt.nz/council/Budget+and+Planning/Ashburton+District+Community+Plan.htm, viewed on 20 July 2008.

17 Ashburton District Development Plan: Planning for the future of our District to 2021. Prepared for the Ashburton District Council by Boffa Miskell Ltd. Adopted 30 June 2005.

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- the changing roles of the District’s dispersed villages as attractive places to live for people with additional recreational time and for new business ventures related to the natural environment.

The District’s recently completed Walking and Cycling Strategy18 refers to two LTCCP outcomes in the following terms -

Outcome 5: Healthy, active people enjoying a good quality of life in a caring and safe community

Outcome 6: A community with access to a variety of cultural, recreational and heritage experiences and facilities to enrich our quality of life

The District’s Physical Activity Strategy19 notes that one of the District’s strengths is that Lake Hood provides “a facility for water sports such as kayaking, rowing and waterskiing”; that one of the opportunities provided by Lake Hood is to “attract sports people to Ashburton”; that Lake Hood was discussed as one location where “a well defined walking/cycling circuit could be created around Ashburton and the other smaller settlements.”

The Neighbourhood Open Space Strategy aims to ensure that “future community leisure and recreational needs are met”20 particularly at the neighbourhood level

3.2 Lake Hood and Huntingdon Park

Establishment

Located 5 km from Tinwald and accessed via Grahams and Stranges Roads, the initial development of Lake Hood and the associated residential settlement of Huntingdon Park was completed in 2004 when the first residents began occupation. Since then the settlement of Huntingdon Park has grown to ~4521 permanently occupied households. A further 15 dwellings (approx.) exist but are occupied on an infrequent basis, while the whole Stage 1 development allows for up to 150 dwelling units.

The existing Lake has yachting and rowing facilities, a boat ramp and picnicking areas. There is a commercial boat storage facility nearby, just off the entrance road to the Park.

The establishment of the Lake House Restaurant facility in 2007 has created something of a community focal point, although no specific data exist on how broad a cross-section of the local community make use of this at the present time.

18 Ashburton District Walking and Cycling Strategy, June 2008. p.7

19 Ashburton Physical Activity Strategy 2006: more people, more active, more often. pp.44, 54, 56

20 Ashburton District Walking and Cycling Strategy, June 2008. p.8

21 Observations by AAPCT indicated that ~60 dwellings had been constructed by March 2008; RGA (2007) survey reported 74% of constructed houses were permanently occupied.

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A postal survey of Huntingdon Park residents was carried out as part of this assessment (refer to Appendix 2 for more details). The survey achieved a sampling rate from existing households of 40%, and is used as the basis for quantitative estimates presented in the following sections of this report.

Origin of present residents

Two-thirds of present Huntingdon Park residents have come from Ashburton or Tinwald, and therefore continue many of their previous associations - place of work, children’s schooling, cultural activities and social networks, involving frequent visits between Lake Hood and Ashburton. It is a further extension of the kind of relationship that Tinwald residents have with Ashburton. Interviews with residents indicated several multi-generation family clusters have re-located to Huntingdon Park; already three babies have been born in the village.

Four households (~20%) indicated that if Huntingdon Park had not been a residential option available, they would not have chosen to move to the Ashburton area to live.

Household characteristics

The 18 households responding to the Taylor Baines survey contained 51 individuals, corresponding to an average household size of 2.8 persons/household. This figure is similar to the figure of 2.7 persons/household in the Lake Hood statistical meshblock at the time of the 2006 census. Households are evenly split between those with only adult members and those with adults and dependent children.

Of the households who responded, nine occupants are currently engaged in primary schooling, five in secondary schooling and three in tertiary study. Children attend one of the primary schools in Ashburton or Tinwald or a nearby rural primary school, or Ashburton High School. They are either driven by their parents or take the daily school bus service which includes Huntingdon Park as part of a more extensive rural catchment.

More than half the adults in the surveyed households are in full-time employment, one-third are in part-time employment while a few are retired or not in paid work. The occupational range is diverse, including accommodation, accountancy, banking, building, café work, consulting, education, engineering, farming, IT, land development, medical services, office administration, retailing, stock and station, and transport. This employment is based mainly in Ashburton and Tinwald, but a few work further afield in Canterbury.

Access to services

The existing community of Huntingdon Park has no local social and community services, nor commercial services. These are all accessed in Ashburton or Tinwald. In many cases, residents are simply continuing to access the same services as previously, when they lived elsewhere in Ashburton.

It is evident that for convenience services - convenience food, post office and petrol - Tinwald is a common location, due to proximity and inevitable travel routes.

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Community involvement

The theme of retaining strong links with established social networks and organisations in Ashburton is also evident in the community involvements of Huntingdon Park residents. Collectively, they have a wide range of involvements in social, recreational, sporting, cultural and environmental groups. Most but not all of these are centred in Ashburton, and local commitments are evolving as well. In half the cases, respondents reported active roles in these organisations, including being president, chairman, secretary or committee member.

Attributes of the Lake Hood development valued by Huntingdon Park residents

Residents’ responses to the April 2007 survey indicate a high level of satisfaction22 with the existing Huntingdon Park development. There was overall agreement that Huntingdon Park -

- is a safe place to live; - is an exciting place to live; - is a relaxing place to live; - has all the recreation opportunities wanted; - has an attractive landscape setting; - is a convenient place to live; - has a good sense of community; - is the right size.

Responses were mixed on two counts - that the existing Huntingdon Park -

- has all the community facilities wanted; - has all the commercial facilities wanted.

There is something of a paradox evident in these results. The extent of community and commercial facilities that are viable depends to some degree on the size of the community being served. To the extent that such (additional) facilities are wanted by local residents, there must be an acceptance that the community needs to grow in scale. However, the level of agreement with the statement that Huntingdon Park “is the right size” probably reflects an attachment by some residents to the notion that it is an exclusive residential development, a notion that was promoted at the time the original development was marketed23.

3.3 Rural neighbourhood of Lake Hood

Unlike the area close to the eastern edge of Tinwald and the area around Lake Hood itself, the other rural land neighbouring the Lake Hood statistical meshblock exhibited no observable increase in population over the decade from 1996 to 2006. These observations were confirmed by three real estate agents interviewed. They all noted that while the primary determinant for this situation is the District Plan zoning provisions, they are aware of

22 Numeric scores of 2.5 or less (in Table 34 of Rob Greenaway & Associates, 2007) indicate agreement with the stated proposition, whilst scores 2.5 and 3.5 would indicate a neutral response - i.e. neither agree nor disagree.

23 Several respondents to the Taylor Baines residents survey of June 2008 made reference to this promised attribute of exclusiveness.

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Nevertheless, at the present time, land use in this area remains predominantly pastoral. One neighbouring landowner has already developed a boat storage facility adjacent to the existing entrance road to Huntingdon Park

3.4 Recreational visitors to Lake Hood

The Visitor Survey in April 2007 by Rob Greenaway & Associates indicated that a very high proportion (88%) of visitors to Lake Hood came from the Canterbury region at that time, as shown by the following table24 - Normal residence Visitor %

Ashburton 46

Elsewhere in Ashburton District 9

Christchurch 21

Elsewhere in Canterbury 12

West Coast 1

Otago/Southland 3

North Island 6

Overseas 2

Total 100

The Visitor Survey, conducted in the first half of April (late summer/early autumn), found three main recreational activities of almost equal popularity amongst visitors: general sightseeing (21%), boating (21%) and rowing25 (19%). Water skiing/wake boarding (10%), fishing (8%) and picnicking (7%) were the next most popular recreational activities amongst visitors to Lake Hood.

Perhaps of more significance in terms of understanding the evolving social environment of the Lake Hood area were the survey findings on the degree of visitor loyalty26. The results showed that rowers and their spectators were the most loyal with 73% of their rowing time spent at Lake Hood; water skiers/wake boarders spent 60% of their time at Lake Hood, and several other recreational activities registered almost 50% loyalty - sightseeing (49%), fishing (48%) and boating (47%). Not surprisingly, the mean loyalty level (34%) for all visitors across all activities at Lake Hood was considerably less than the corresponding loyalty level for Huntingdon Park residents (77%). Nevertheless, these results suggest that

24 Table 5 from Rob Greenaway & Associates, 2007.

25 Included rowing spectators. For full details, see survey report Table 6.

26 ‘Loyalty’ is indicated by the proportion of time devoted to any particular recreational activity that is spent at Lake Hood.

-13- Taylor Baines the existing Lake Hood facility has become firmly established as a recreational destination amongst existing users.

Various survey responses - from visitors and residents alike - point to an emerging issue of congestion on the Lake, particularly for water-based activities.

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4 ASSESSMENT OF LIKELY SOCIAL EFFECTS

4.1 An overview of potential contributions to social well being

The proposed expansion of Lake Hood has the potential to generate social effects that contribute broadly across the spectrum of social well being elements -

- access to public facilities; - the quality of the physical environment, a clean environment with aesthetic appeal; - the quality of housing, shelter, neighbourhood and living place; - opportunities for formal education; - opportunities for income and employment and the quality of working life; - opportunities for leisure and recreation, time to enjoy them, and access to quality outdoors/open space; - the state of people’s physical and mental health; - influences on family life, social attachment, social contact, interaction and support; - influences on participation in community and society, including participation in organised groups and social activities; and - influences on personal safety, public safety, autonomy or freedom from too much risk.

Many of these potential social effects are likely to be positive, cumulative and permanent. However, there will also be risks of some adverse social effects over an extended period of time since the lake construction and gravel transport activities with which they are associated are expected to occur over a 15-20 year period.

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4.2 Social effects and affected groups

The following table summarises the range and nature of social effects to be expected, and the nature of the groups of people likely to be affected.

Source of effect Nature of effect Affected groups

Ashburton and District:

Expanded lake, with more - Enhanced general All lake and Aquatic Park users water space and more land recreational opportunities (Huntingdon Park, Ashburton, space for recreation through increased separation district, region) of conflicting activities on the water, and capacity to accommodate more users; - Associated lifestyle and health benefits; - Increased opportunities for Schools and school-age District schools to conduct children in the District outdoor pursuits activities locally; - Improved quality of Members of Ashburton’s recreational and training aquatic sports clubs (sailing, experience for established rowing, water skiing, kayaking) aquatic sports

Expanded Lake Hood Increased likelihood of a Local residents with an interest destination proposed walkway/cycleway in walking and cycling between being developed along the Ashburton and Lake Hood; of Ashburton River between the particular value to lower- town and Lake Hood (i.e. income people as a low-cost additional recreational recreational opportunity infrastructure)

Enlarged facilities and more Enhanced contribution to the Ashburton residents and people visiting Lake Hood; identity of Ashburton town and businesses more diverse and distinctive district as a desirable place to residential and recreational live and work, making it easier development to attract skilled people

Expanded residential Greater choice of living Residents of Ashburton and opportunities at Lake Hood environments elsewhere in Canterbury

Enlarged facilities and more Increased opportunities for Business owners and people visiting Lake Hood local businesses to service employees across a range of visitor needs and provide sectors in Ashburton: services associated with commercial accommodation, events held at the Lake food & beverage, event catering, equipment hire and boat storage, etc.

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Source of effect Nature of effect Affected groups

Huntingdon Park residents:

Expanded residential - Increase in size and diversity All residents of Huntingdon opportunities at Lake Hood of the resident community, Park; especially groups with resulting in enhanced social particular needs such as capital, social contact, households with pre-school interactions and support, and children; people who are potential viability of additional retired or work from home; services and community facilities locally - reduced sense of Those residents who prefer a exclusiveness about living in smaller, more exclusive Huntingdon Park settlement

Lake construction earthworks, Risk of reduced residential All residents of Huntingdon other construction activities, amenity values - noise, dust, Park and on-going gravel visual intrusion - during the processing and transport construction period and beyond

Rural landowners and residents in the vicinity of Lake Hood:

Expanded Lake Hood - Enhanced and diversified Neighbouring landowners on destination visual amenity and local the south side of Lake Hood, recreational amenity for rural particularly those with views residents in the long term; into the expanded Aquatic Park - Opportunities for land-use change and rural-residential development, if future zoning allows this

Lake construction earthworks, Risk of reduced residential Neighbouring landowners other construction activities, amenity values - noise, dust, immediately adjacent to the and on-going gravel visual intrusion - during the expanded Aquatic Park processing and transport construction period and beyond

Increased traffic volumes on Risk of reduced residential Rural residents with dwellings existing rural roads from amenity (traffic noise) and road close to Grahams Rd and increased resident numbers safety Stranges Road, and existing and visitors to the Lake road users (vehicular, cyclist and pedestrian)

Rural and town residents along gravel cartage routes around Ashburton:

Cessation/reduction of gravel Improved amenity values and Residents living along existing extraction activities at road safety cartage routes Ashburton Forks

New gravel transportation Risk of reduced amenity Residents living along future routes (traffic noise, dust) and road cartage routes; also schools. safety; also public access risks

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4.3 Discussion of social effects

Enhanced recreational opportunities

The proposed expansion to the Lake Hood Aquatic Park will double the size of the Lake and expand the area of land accessible for land-based recreation activities around the Lake and along the Ashburton River. This is likely to provide for greater separation of conflicting activities, such as greater separation between motorised and non-motorised boating. As a recreational asset for the Town and the District (the majority of users), the expanded Lake is therefore likely to increase its capacity as well as enhance the recreational experience of various groups of users by reducing the degree of congestion at busy times and therefore the frequency with which conflicts occur.

If the Lake expansion proceeds, this is likely to focus attention on the development of some form of walkway/cycleway along the Ashburton River, between the Town and the Lake destination. Already signalled as a possible development in the District’s Physical Activity Strategy, the combination of expanded recreational facilities at Lake Hood connected by road and by walkway/cycleway with the Town would make a significant contribution to achieving the Strategy’s goals. These facilities support the recreational interests of a broad cross section of people with diverse interests, levels of fitness, disposable income and age.

The Lake Hood expansion is therefore likely to enhance the recreational opportunities and foster healthier lifestyles of a substantial number of Ashburton residents and the growing number of people choosing to live at Huntingdon Park (see also education-related benefits below). The proposed expansion will be of particular benefit to the specialist aquatic sports groups whose activities have either established or been re-located to Lake Hood. All four - sailing, rowing, water skiing and kayaking - appear to have made long-term commitments to the venue, and endorsed its proximity as an important factor in the viability of their club activities. All are also experiencing some constraints already due to activity conflicts or congestion at times.

The full development of the Lake expansion proposal has a 10-12 year time horizon. It is expected that physical lake expansion works would be carried out in an incremental and staged manner. While a substantial increment to water space27 would be targeted within the first six months to a year, full development will take much longer28. Nevertheless, this immediate increase in water space, allied to the fact that the additional water space will be largely separated from the existing water space, would still support the dual aspects of increasing capacity and reducing the degree of conflict between activities. Furthermore, since Lake Hood is already a destination, this extended time frame is unlikely to apply to the creation of the connecting walkway/cycleway.

Besides creating enlarged physical infrastructure, other initiatives will help achieve the expected outcomes. The establishment and enforcement of rules for boat use on the expanded lake will be important for ensuring future conflicts are avoided and the quality of recreational experience is maintained. The District’s Physical Activity Strategy already envisages efforts to promote physical activity generally, and “to ensure that a coordinated

27 Refer to project staging plans

28 This reflects the need to generate revenue from property sales in order to fund further stages of lake expansion.

-18- Taylor Baines approach is taken to managing events and local facilities which maximises access for the community.”29

In the long term, the proposed Lake Hood expansion is likely to result in significantly enhanced and expanded recreational opportunities for a broad cross-section of Ashburton residents.

Enhanced outdoor education opportunities

As noted in Section 3.1, only four schools out of 23 in the District have so far been making regular use of Lake Hood for outdoor education activities. None of the six primary schools in Ashburton township has been making regular use of the Lake for outdoor education activities. Of the 12 schools in the District which had never even considered using Lake Hood for outdoor education, three are located in Ashburton itself. However, a large majority of the District schools (20 out of 23) indicated that they would consider using Lake Hood in future if additional facilities, specific courses/areas and services are provided, as well as access to equipment.

This represents a significant opportunity to enhance the outdoor education programmes of many District schools by using facilities that are close by, particularly so for schools in Ashburton itself.

Arguably, this could happen even without the proposed expansion of the Lake. However, increased levels of usage by the District’s schools will be assisted by having a larger facility, with more scope to maintain some separation of activities from other regular lake users. The issue of additional facilities and services is also more likely to be addressed under the Lake expansion plan.

More information and a booking system for schools would help schools make better use of this facility, given that many schools are likely to want to use the Lake mostly during summer months.

Enhanced identity for the town and district

The advent of Lake Hood added an element which had not previously been strongly associated with the Town and the District - an expanse of flat water, suitable for a variety of recreational pursuits.

It is evident that the Lake already attracts visitors from outside the District. The Lake as a residential option is also responsible for attracting a proportion of people who would otherwise not choose to live and work in Ashburton, with about 20% of the existing Huntingdon Park households in this category.

Over time, big events held at the Lake and increasing knowledge of the diversity and distinctiveness of the residential and recreational options available in such close proximity to Ashburton will embed Lake Hood as an integral part of the Town’s and District’s identity. This is of value to those with responsibilities for marketing the Town and District, to those wishing to attract people to jobs in Ashburton, and to those contemplating taking up

29 Objective 3.2, p.18 of the Strategy.

-19- Taylor Baines residence in Ashburton and its environs. This benefit will extend to some extent to the rural landowners and residents who live in the vicinity of the expanded Lake Hood.

The effect will be gradual and incremental. Nevertheless, the success of the initial stage of Lake development over the past four years is encouraging.

Expanded choice of living environments for more people

The first stage of the Lake Hood development introduced a new residential concept to the Town and District - canal-side and lake-side living. It is evident that this option created an element of choice which attracted households from Ashburton itself, as well as some from further afield.

The present stage of residential development is relatively uniform in the sense that all the dwellings are fully detached homes on town-sized sections30. Under the proposed Lake Hood expansion plan, more choices will become available. At one end of the spectrum, the proposed village centre will offer “village apartments” on 100-350 m2 lots, while at the other end of the spectrum, rural-residential sections of several hectares and “farmlet blocks” will become available in the western side of the development. This range of lot sizes is likely to appeal to a wider mix of people and interests and therefore reinforce a wide range of household types, resulting in a significantly expanded choice of living environments for more people, many of whom are likely already to be residents of the Town or District. This has further consequences for the sense of community (discussed below).

Increased opportunities for local businesses

As noted in Section 3.1, it is already evident that opportunities have been created for a range of businesses in or near the Town, linked to visitor numbers and events at Lake Hood. These include businesses such as commercial accommodation, food and beverage outlets and cafes and restaurants, event catering, equipment hire, petrol stations and boat storage.

The proposed expansion of the Lake is likely to result in increasing visitor numbers and more events, with a consequent increase in demand for the kinds of services listed above. The effect is likely to be gradual and cumulative, given the nature and time-frame of lake expansion described previously. Nevertheless, these opportunities are very likely to benefit two or three dozen businesses in the Town, contributing to their viability and the livelihoods of their employees and owners.

Enhanced sense of community at Huntingdon Park

The proposed Lake Hood expansion will increase the residential capacity from its current maximum of 150 households (at full development) to approximately 500 households at full development. At a typical household size of 2.8 people/household, this will result in a long- term community of approximately 105031 permanent residents.

30 1000-1200 m2 sections.

31 500 lots X 2.8 people/household X 74% permanently occupied dwellings = 1,036.

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Resident numbers create demand for various ‘services’. In fully developed communities, such services typically include access to convenience grocery shopping (the local dairy) as well as specific services such as pre-school facilities, schools, medical centres, community hall/library with rooms to hire for meetings or small group activities, rubbish collection, waste recycling, and so on. At present, Huntingdon Park residents access all such services either in Tinwald or Ashburton.

It is evident that expectations already exist that some local facilities and services will be provided in future, as the resident community expands. Discussions held at a recent community meeting32 supported the introduction of a recycling collection service paid for by residents. Responses to the residents’ survey indicated that 33% of resident households would like to see some form of small convenience store or dairy established, and 22% are in favour of a children’s playground being built. These responses mirror similar suggestions received in the 2007 survey of residents33.

Pre-school facilities:

Experience in other resident communities suggests that access to facilities for pre-school children is a common feature and one which tends to evolve, even informally, at an early stage of community formation. Currently, approximately 10% of the Huntingdon Park residential community is of pre-school age. Long-term, this could be expected to settle at around 6-8% of the population, indicating that by the time the planned expansion of Lake Hood comes to fruition, there might be between 70 and 100 pre-schoolers in the resident community at any time. To put this estimate in context, a kindergarten/playcentre facility capable of catering to 50 children per session and involving 4-6 full-time staff, typically occupies 1500 m2 of space, including land and building. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that sufficient local demand for establishing some form of pre-school facility at Huntingdon Park will exist before full uptake of all residential property in the expanded development is achieved. Indeed, many pre-school services operate at smaller numbers of children (say 15-25 in a session). By way of comparison, the only pre-school in Tinwald, established in 1995, currently caters for 120 pre-schoolers across various sessions with 25 part-time staff. It is expanding its building to cater for an additional 15 children, in response to the increasing numbers of nearby rural families associated with the boom in dairying.

Primary schools:

Tinwald Primary School is the nearest existing primary school, located adjacent to the main route from Lake Hood into Tinwald. It already has children from two Huntingdon Park families on its roll. Ashburton hosts five other primary schools, and Huntingdon Park children go to some of these because of previous family associations or because a parent teaches there.

The Tinwald Primary School principal points out that the school has plenty of land to expand over time. It is currently building a new classroom to accommodate the growth in student numbers associated with sub-division in its catchment. The proximity of Huntingdon Park to Tinwald and the availability of a school bus service mean that it is highly unlikely that an

32 Lake House, 18 June 2008.

33 Rob Greenaway & Associates, Table 35: “children’s playground” and “dairy - milk, bread, newspaper, laundry” were two out of the top three suggestions.

-21- Taylor Baines argument would be mounted for creating a separate school at Huntingdon Park in the future, even with an expanded Lake Hood.

Medical practice:

Benchmark ratios for the establishment of a viable general medical practitioner’s service in an urban setting are typically one GP per 1400 people living within 3 km of the medical centre. Thus it is unlikely that even the expanded Lake Hood development will result in a resident population sufficient to warrant its own medical practice even if there were a GP willing to take the business risk. Residents are therefore likely to continue accessing primary medical care in Tinwald and Ashburton.

Convenience stores/dairy:

The establishment of a convenience store or dairy is a commercial investment decision, with judgements to be made about the real level of demand for such a service. It should be noted however that a stand-alone store is not the only option. Rural New Zealand has many examples where small dairy-type services are provided by country pubs as an adjunct to their main business.

Summary:

The residents of Huntingdon Park could reasonably expect some services to be accessible in the village in future, although these are unlikely to be large in scale, and will be determined by demand. Nevertheless, a degree of self-reliance adds to sense of place. Therefore, land allocation needs to be allowed for at the planning stage and consideration given by the Council and the Trust to appropriate building space in future. Small community groups do not necessarily need or want to own their own building in order to carry out their activities. The Lake House facility, apart from providing a local socialising venue, has meeting rooms available.

Social capital:

Resident numbers also form the basis of social capital in any community, reflected in the way in which community members network socially, support others in their community and participate in organised groups within the community.

It is evident that many of the current residents of Huntingdon Park are still committed to groups and organisations in the wider community of Ashburton, based on where they used to live, and the fact that Ashburton provides a range of facilities not available at Lake Hood. However, some already participate in the Huntingdon Park Property Owners Association. Such local organisations can be expected to increase in future as a result of more people being resident and their length of residency increasing. Informal groups typically form, such as pre-school playgroups, adult book groups, and the like, according to the needs and interests of residents. The expectation that this kind of mutual support would grow in future, linked to an expanded resident population, was expressed by a number of residents during discussions at the Lake House meeting on 18 June. Indeed, 28% of respondents to the June 2008 residents’ survey expressed the expectation that one benefit of an expanded Lake Hood will be an enhanced sense of community there.

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Loss of exclusivity:

A couple of respondents to the residents’ survey expressed the view that an expansion of Lake Hood will result in a loss of exclusivity associated with increasing numbers of residents in future. They expressed resentment over what they see as “breaking a promise” to those who took up the initial invitation to invest in a smaller Huntingdon Park than is now envisaged.

If the existing Huntingdon Park were fully taken up (150 households; 74% permanently occupied), this would constitute 1.6% of the total permanently occupied households in Ashburton town and its associated peri-urban areas in 2007. Extrapolating growth in the resident population of Ashburton and its peri-urban areas over the next 20 years, and comparing this with full uptake of the 500 lots proposed under the Lake Hood expansion plan would result in a corresponding figure of 4.3% in 20 years time.

This suggests that while Huntingdon Park will become somewhat less exclusive, in simple numerical terms, it will not lose its exclusiveness altogether. Furthermore, it will retain the distinctive feature of being a coherently planned residential development with exceptional access to recreational facilities.

Effects on residential and recreational amenity from construction activities

Large-scale excavation works over a period of 10-12 years, and the stock-piling, processing and cartage of gravel over a period of 15-20 years has the potential to pose risks to the residential and recreational amenity of existing and future residents of Huntingdon Park and its recreational visitors. Noise and dust effects are possible associated with excavation activities, gravel processing, and cartage of gravel along unsealed roads, including Boundary Road.

The acoustical consultant has concluded34 that “the predicted noise level from the proposed processing plant at the closest existing house within Huntingdon Park will be 44dBA L10 without any specific noise screening, which is well within the proposed design limit. The proposed screening will further reduce this level to provide a good factor of safety for the residents and achieve the requirements of section 16 of the Resource Management Act to adopt the best practical option to minimize the noise.”

Visual intrusion may be an issue for some associated with the stockpiling of gravel for subsequent use.

Physical separation is one mitigating factor, with minimum distances in the early stages of several hundred metres. However, aspects of timing (hours of construction work) and protocols controlling construction activities under circumstances when the wind is blowing from the noreast to norwest quarter have yet to be determined. The risk of potentially significant reductions in amenity values and the need to avoid this should be addressed in a pro-active manner, given the length of time over which these risks will arise.

Another mitigating factor is that several AAPCT Trustees and the general manager of ACL are also residents of Huntingdon Park and therefore not only have to live with the same

34 Hegley, N. (2008) Lake Hood Extension Project, Ashburton: Proposed Noise Controls. Report No.8288. p.22.

-23- Taylor Baines effects, but also have to live with their neighbours’ experience of these effects. Experience elsewhere35 shows that an effective means for dealing with such issues, and for giving residents confidence that the issues will be addressed in a timely manner, is the establishment of two sets of arrangements: a well-publicised complaints procedure and a formally constituted Residents Liaison Group which has responsibility for maintaining effective communications with the contractors, and monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the complaints procedure.

We would recommend that such arrangements be incorporated as conditions on the proposed Plan Change.

Effects on residential amenity and safety on the roads from changes in the nature and volume of traffic36

Changes in vehicle numbers and routes

The volume and mix of vehicles travelling on roads leading to and from Lake Hood will change markedly if the Lake expansion proceeds. These changes in traffic patterns will result from construction activities associated with creating the expanded lake, increasing numbers of residents in the vicinity of the Lake and increasing numbers of Lake users, as well as the change in the location of the District’s principal source of gravel for the next couple of decades.

The resulting expected changes in traffic movements have been quantified by Traffic Design Group37. Several characteristics of the expected changes in traffic movements described in that report are worth noting here. Firstly, the increase in traffic associated with an expanded Lake (more residents and more recreational users) will be a gradual progression over time38. Secondly, the heavy vehicle movements associated with carting gravel from Lake Hood will replace existing heavy vehicle movements which currently occur along SH77 between Ashburton Forks and the Town. The routes followed by some heavy vehicle movements through the Town will also change. Thirdly, while traffic associated with the removal of gravel from the site will, in the normal course of events, travel across a newly-constructed

35 One of the best examples of such arrangements is documented in Taylor Baines (2000): An analysis of host community experience of the Redvale Landfill. Research carried out under contract to the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology, under Public Good Science Fund Contract TBA802. 67p. The case involved a major solid waste facility being developed for operation over several decades, where the nearest existing dwellings are less than 100 m from landfilling activity and the landfill manager lived adjacent to the site.

36 The assessment reported here of social effects associated with changes in the nature and volume of traffic have been made based on consultation interviews carried out by representatives of the Aquatic Park Trust and Tonkin & Taylor, technical assessments of traffic impacts and noise effects carried out by other consultants, and site visits conducted by the social impact assessors. However, there has been no additional interviewing of potentially affected parties by the social impact assessors.

37 Traffic Design Group. 2008. Lake Hood Extension Project Joint Venture: Aquatic Park Zone Plan Change - Draft Transport Assessment, Client Report. October 2008. Sections 6.4 and 6.5 and Appendix D.

38 Op.Cit. Figure 10.

-24- Taylor Baines river crossing39 - including a bridge span and causeway system - to the northern side of the Ashburton River, occasional disruptions to this arrangement can be expected from time to time, when flood events in the Ashburton River wash out the river crossing, requiring the heavy vehicles which cart gravel to travel to Town via routes on the southern side of the River. It is estimated that this could happen for up to one month each year in total, although not necessarily one month continuously.

Social effects of increased traffic from Lake expansion

These essentially relate to increased traffic on the southern side of the Ashburton River related to Lake expansion activities and to residential development and recreational activities at the expanded Lake. Most of the rural residents consulted along Grahams and Stranges Road in the vicinity of Lake Hood raised the general issue of increased traffic. In several cases they noted that their own interests in future rural-residential development would lead to similar effects. The survey of Huntingdon Park residents carried out for this social impact assessment also pointed to concerns about road safety standards in future, particularly mindful of increasing numbers of cyclists and pedestrians on Graham’s Road mixing with increasing numbers of vehicles (see Appendix 2).

Lake construction traffic - over a finite period of time - is likely to be similar to that experienced during the first phase of Lake development. There is no evidence that this has resulted in long-lasting social effects in the locality. Permitted residential development will already result in increasing levels of related traffic in future, and the next phase of Lake Hood development is expected to continue this trend, as shown by Traffic Design Group’s projections40. The traffic consultants have already made recommendations for improvements to the road infrastructure aimed at ensuring maintenance of efficient functioning as well as ensuring safety for all road users41. To complement this, it would be appropriate that the Residents Liaison Group, mentioned in the previous section, also include a couple of representatives from rural residents along Grahams and Stranges Roads. Such a group would perform a useful social monitoring function. However, since the Trust has no control over general recreational traffic, the role of these representatives will focus only on lake construction traffic.

With this in place, significant adverse social impacts are not expected to arise.

Status and intended function of the roads involved in gravel cartage

Traffic Design Group point out that most of the proposed route for heavy vehicle movements associated with carting gravel - Beach Road, Moore Street and Grahams Road - is classified as Principal Roads within the Ashburton District Plan. The function of a Principal Road is described as follows: “Principal roads provide the connections between arterial roads and inter-connect the major rural, suburban, commercial and industrial areas...” They point out that the intended function of Principal Roads is to provide connections for industrial uses. Hence, in Traffic Design Group’s assessment of the situation, it is considered that the use of Grahams Road, Moore Street and Beach Road for gravel transport is consistent with the

39 Op.Cit. Figure 11.

40 Op.Cit. Figure 10.

41 Op.Cit. Table 13 and following text.

-25- Taylor Baines intended functions of these roads42. Traffic Design Group data shows that these three roads already carry significant numbers of heavy vehicle movements43, implying that the presence of heavy vehicle traffic on these roads is not a feature with which people are unfamiliar.

Comparison of dwelling numbers close to heavy vehicle routes

A possible indicator of the potential scale of changes in residential amenity effects associated with changes in the numbers of heavy vehicles using each route can be taken from the numbers of residential properties with immediate frontages onto the nominated road where the dwelling is within 50 m of the road. Estimates of road-side dwelling numbers made as a result of direct observation44 are summarised in the following table.

Road Location Roadside dwellings

State Highway 77 3 km northwest of the Town Boundary 12

State Highway 77 Town Boundary to Town Centre (west side) 132

Moore Street Town Boundary to Town Centre (east side) 88

Beach Road Town Boundary to Cochranes Road (3 km) 10

Beach Road Cochranes Road to Nicolls Road (1 km) 2

Chalmers Avenue Seafield Road to South Street 168

Also recorded were the presence on SH77 of the Aoraki Polytechnic (between Buchan Place and cross Street) and a primary school (between Burnett Street and Smallbone Drive). On the eastern side of Ashburton, the Mill Creek Pony Club and a riding facility for people with disabilities were observed at the southern-most end of Trevors Road and Leeston Road respectively. Both these riding facilities are located at some considerable distance away from Moore Street, and both are on sites adjacent to the Ashburton River.

Social effects of heavy vehicle traffic associated with carting gravel from Lake Hood

The AAPCT has explored two possible routes connecting to the proposed bridge and causeway across the Ashburton River. Both routes, via Cochranes Road and via Nicolls Road, would connect onto Beach Road, which as noted above is a Principal Road intended for such traffic and already carrying substantial numbers of heavy vehicles. Thereafter, the heavy vehicle routes on the northern side of the River are identical, irrespective of whether Cochranes Road or Nicolls Road is used.

In the broader scheme, the substitution of heavy vehicle movements carting gravel along SH77 into the western side of Ashburton with heavy vehicle movements carting gravel along Beach Road into the eastern side of Ashburton benefits rather more households than it

42 Op.Cit. Section 7.2.2.2

43 Op.Cit. Section 3.1, Table 1.

44 Observations made during a visit on 10 October 2008.

-26- Taylor Baines disadvantages through the potential for reduced roadside amenity45, if that is indeed a concern to these residents.

Concerns expressed by rural residents in the immediate vicinity of Cochrane Road and Nicolls Road relate to traffic noise, road safety for other road users (with particular reference made to horse riding) and the likelihood that the proposed route will open the way for more members of the public to access the riverbank on the northern side in private vehicles creating a variety of nuisances46.

At this more localised level, the potential for adverse social effects through reduced residential amenity values is definitely considerably less for the Nicolls Road option47 than it would be for the Cochranes Road option48, because of the separation distances of the dwellings from the road.

Regarding traffic noise from the heavy vehicles, the acoustical consultant Mr Hegley has concluded that noise exposure at the nearest houses is likely to be comfortably within the 50 dBA technical design recommendation for truck noise. Nevertheless, Mr Hegley notes research that “suggests that a small number of people (approximately 10%) will find any noise not of their own making unacceptable.”49 Furthermore, when the noise source is not previously anticipated and imposed by others as an effectively permanent new feature of the soundscape, such a response is likely. The traffic noise likely to be most noticeable in the nearest dwelling is that related to stopping and starting at the intersection of Nicolls and Beach Roads. It is understood that discussions with affected parties are still in progress.

It appears that dust from vehicles travelling along an unsealed road could be a potential nuisance at the dwelling nearest to Nicolls Road, particularly during periods of sustained north to northwest winds. This assessment notes the Trust’s intention to seal Nicolls Road between Beach Road and the River in order to mitigate this adverse effect.

Safety risks to other road users are unlikely to be a significant problem, given the level of heavy vehicle traffic already using Beach Road.

General public vehicular access to the Ashburton River bed via Nicolls Road can be restricted by lockable gates at the intersection with Beach Road, to be closed when the last load of the day passes.

45 144 households adjacent to SH77 will experience a reduction of 112 daily heavy vehicle movements and 168 households adjacent to Chalmers Avenue will experience a reduction of 13 heavy vehicle movements, while 100 households adjacent to Beach Road and Moore Street will experience an increase of 75 daily heavy vehicle movements.

46 The concerns with such public access were described as being related to undesirable, noisy or unsafe behaviour nearby (shooting, 4WD vehicles and motorbikes) and to the periodic damage to fences which the residents attributed to people engaged in these activities.

47 The nearest dwelling (the Girvan property) is ~100 m from Nicolls Road at its nearest point and ~200 m from the intersection of Nicolls Road with Beach Road.

48 One dwelling along Cochranes Road (the Smith property) is no more than 10 m from the road, while a second dwelling on Cochranes Road (the Montgomery property) is ~20 m from the road and 20 m from Beach Road. A third dwelling on Cochranes Road (the Marshall property) is ~60 m from Cochranes Road and ~50 m from beach Road.

49 Hegley 2008. Lake Hood Extension Project, Ashburton: Proposed Noise Controls. Report No. 8288. Appendix A.

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The extent of these potential adverse social effects is difficult to predict with certainty. A precautionary measure, in the interests of protecting the residential amenity values of people living adjacent to Nicolls and Cochranes Roads, would be to include two representatives on the proposed Residents Liaison Group, as has already been recommended for rural residents along Grahams and Stranges Roads. Such an involvement allows these residents to feel a degree of influence over their future interests. It encourages constructive discussion to resolve emerging issues before they become problematic.

The corresponding potential for adverse social effects when gravel cartage has to travel south of the Ashburton River temporarily after incidents of flood damage to the river crossing is much reduced because of its temporary nature. Nevertheless, two potential adverse effects - dust and road safety - need to be managed for. There will be the potential for dust nuisance in the future for the rural-residential properties planned adjacent to Boundary Road which is currently unsealed. The temporary and intermittent nature of the effect would suggest that use of a water cart to suppress dust would be an appropriate option on the few occasions when it is needed. Regarding potential road safety issues, the temporary nature of the heavy vehicle usage of Grahams Road make it particularly important that information is transmitted to groups who need to know about the associated risks. For example, Tinwald Primary School is located adjacent to Grahams Road, and a park and playground is immediately across Grahams Raod from the School grounds.

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5 CONCLUSIONS

The proposed Lake Hood expansion plan has to be seen as a long-term development; not something that will be realised in several years but in several decades.

Expansion of Lake Hood would confirm Huntingdon Park/Lake Hood as a distinct residential location within the vicinity of Ashburton. Based on experience to date, it is reasonable to anticipate the likelihood of a durable and viable residential community with an increasing sense of place and sense of community. However, it is never going to be independent of Ashburton, but rather contributing to the identity of Ashburton itself.

Important social benefits are associated with the recreational aspects of the expanded Lake Hood - increased recreational capacity and reduced recreational conflict, more visitors and events and use by District schools, business opportunities to service these, general support for the Districts Physical Activity Strategy and many of the social outcomes in the current LTCCP.

The benefits will be experienced by residents from Huntingdon Park to Ashburton - the majority of users of the Lake.

The social benefits are generally long-term, cumulative and permanent. They are also likely to be experienced by many people in the Town and District.

In contrast, the risk of adverse social effects are much more localised, although they are likely to remain as risks for a considerable period of time.

The main adverse social effects for residents at Huntingdon Park are likely to be associated with construction and gravel processing activities over an extended period. Addressing these risks in a meaningful way will require the involvement of local residents in monitoring these effects and having the opportunity to influence mitigation. We note that the basis for such an involvement exists already in the form of the Huntingdon Park Property Owners Association.

The main adverse social effects for rural residents near Lake Hood and urban residents are likely to be associated with the processing and cartage of gravel from the site over a period of 15-20 years - a new scale for such activity for this side of Ashburton. The assessment of alternative routes has identified a preferred option which minimises the risk of such adverse effects for most households. Addressing any residual adverse social effects in a meaningful manner, as envisaged under the Resource Management Act, will also require social monitoring over an extended period. The general traffic-related effects are likely to be manageable since they relate to a gradual increase in overall traffic associated with the expanded Lake. In other words, they will be experienced by residents of an expanded Ashburton town community as the effects of a growing town.

Given the nature of the proposal - a Plan Change which will render all the subsequent development activities as permitted - it is essential that mechanisms are put in place and sustained which allow affected groups, or their representatives, to participate in adaptive management.

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Summary of consultation as part of this assessment

Appendix 2 Huntingdon Park residents’ survey

Appendix 3 The social wellbeing framework

Appendix 4 Trends in usually resident population and permanently occupied dwellings

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Appendix 1 Summary of consultation as part of this assessment

For this social assessment, interviews were held with representatives of the following organisations, businesses or groups:

18 June Ashburton District Council Planning

23 June Tinwald Primary School Tinwald Childs Play Preschool Tinwald Medical Centre Platters Café Ashburton Sailing Club Clearwater water skiing Club

24 June Tinwald Takeaways Tinwald Shell petrol station Tinwald Mead Motors Tinwald Adcroft Motel Ashburton Rowing Club Ashburton College

25 June Tinwald Tavern Tinwald Lizzies Dairy Supervalue supermarket Ashburton Kayak Club

20 July Enterprise Ashburton

22 July Ashburton District Council Policy

24 July Harcourts Real Estate First National Real Estate Hastings McLeod Real Estate

30 July Ashburton District Tourism Spit Roast Company Ashburton Marine Ashburton Safe Storage Ashburton U-Hire Lake Hood Boat Storage

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Nineteen survey responses were received from resident households of Huntingdon Park - see Appendix 2 for details.

Aggregate information was also gained from interviews conducted by Tonkin & Taylor with landowners of 13 properties neighbouring Lake Hood on both sides of the Ashburton River.

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Appendix 2 Huntingdon Park residents’ survey

Survey method

The survey of Huntingdon Park residents was conducted using a written questionnaire delivered to occupied houses in the existing village during the second week of June 2008. In total, 40 questionnaires were delivered to Ludlow Drive, Witney Place, Halston Close, Penbury Close and Torbay Avenue.

Thirteen responses were received by the due date. Followup telephone calls in early July 2008 elicited a further five responses, resulting in a total of 18 responses. This corresponds to a response rate of 45%, which is generally considered acceptable for postal, self- completed questionnaires. It is also equivalent to an achieved sampling rate of 40% of existing Huntingdon Park households.

Length of residence and current tenure

The earliest residents took up occupancy slightly more than 4 years ago (April 2004), while the most recent household arrival occurred one month ago (May 2008). The average duration of residence so far is 22 months. All surveyed households are permanent residents, and only one household is renting this accommodation at the present time.

Previous place of residence

Of the 18 responding households, 12 (67%) had moved to Huntingdon Park from somewhere else in Ashburton or Tinwald. The other six households moved to Huntingdon Park from Christchurch (1), somewhere else in Canterbury (3), somewhere else in NZ (1), and overseas (1). Four households (out of six who came from elsewhere) indicated that if Huntingdon Park had not been a residential option available, they would not have chosen to move to the Ashburton area to live.

Household composition

Adult-only households and households with children were almost evenly balanced. Ten households are currently involve only adults (there is just one one-person household reported) while eight households involve adults and children. In total, there are 32 adults, 12 school-age children and 5 pre-school children living in Huntingdon Park.

Average household size is 2.8 persons/household, similar to the figure of 2.7 for the Lake Hood statistical meshblock at the time of the 2006 census.

Employment

Most adults (21) are in full-time employment; 5 are retired and 2 are not in paid work. Furthermore, eleven residents - a mix of adults and school-age children - are in part-time employment.

Despite the relatively small number of local residents, the occupational range is diverse, including accommodation, accountancy, banking, building, café work, consulting, education, engineering, farming, IT, land development, medical services, office administration, retailing, stock and station, and transport. This employment is based mainly in Ashburton and Tinwald, but a few work further afield in Canterbury.

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Education

Nine residents are currently engaged in primary schooling, five in secondary schooling and three in tertiary study.

Access to services

The following table summarises responses about where Huntingdon Park residents access a range of services. Note that some people responded with several ‘usual’ locations.

Service Tinwald Ashburton Elsewhere

Pre-school 2 1 Longbeach

Doctor 5 12 2 Timaru (2)

Dentist 16 2 Timaru (2)

Other health specialist 5 8 Timaru (1), Chch (7)

Dairy - convenience 15 3 goods

Supermarket - main 3 1 8 shopping

Library 12

Bank 17 2 Timaru (1), internet (1)

Post Office 10 10

Church 4 1 Mayfield (1)

Petrol Station 13 12 2 unspecified (2)

Given that most Huntingdon Park residents moved there from other places in Ashburton, it is evident that they have retained strong links established with their previous places of residence. There is some evidence that for convenience services - convenience food, post office and petrol - Tinwald is a common location, due to proximity and inevitable travel routes.

Social networks and involvements

Collectively, residents of Huntingdon Park have a wide range of involvements in social, recreational, sporting, cultural and environmental groups. Although Huntingdon Park is a new residential community, as noted above, most of the residents moved their having lived previously in Ashburton. As a result, they have brought their previous involvements with them and maintained their existing social networks.

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Involvements occur at various geographic levels - from Lake Hood to Ashburton. In half the cases, respondents reported active roles in these organisations, including being president, chairman, secretary or committee member.

Lake Hood/Huntingdon Park

Lake Hood Trust Lake Hood Management Committee Huntingdon Park Property Owners (Residents) Association Sailing Club Rowing Club

Tinwald

Tinwald Netball Club Tinwald Rugby Club

Ashburton

Arts Society Blind Foundation Boys Brigade College Netball Club Collegiate Squash Club Golf Club Guides NZ Investment Club Mid-Canterbury Badminton Club Parents Centre Probus Club Rotary Club Rugby Club Skating Club Social Basketball Variety Theatre/Drama Society Zonta 41 Club

Elsewhere

Search & Rescue, Methven Autosport/motorsport, Christchurch

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Expressed interests in future social facilities/services at Lake Hood

Nature of facility/service % of responses (N=18)

Additional recreation facilities (e.g. cycling track, skate-park, pool, 39% gym, golf/mini-golf, etc.)

Dairy or small convenience store 33%

Children’s playground 22%

Recycling/green-waste facility 17%

Improved transport options/services to Ashburton 11%

Likely benefits of this proposal

Expected benefit of expanded Lake % of responses (N=18)

More room on the Lake; less congestion; improved safety 61%

More land-based recreational opportunities around the Lake 50%

Enhanced sense of community 28%

Extended range of local services more likely 11%

Cycling/walking connection to Ashburton more likely 11%

Potential issues with this proposal requiring attention

Expected adverse effect % of responses (N=18)

Loss of residential amenity during construction - noise, dust, 28% vibration, visual intrusion

Increased traffic problems - Tinwald SH1 intersection, poor 17% condition of existing roads, conflicts between cyclists/pedestrians and vehicles on Grahams Road

Reduced exclusiveness of Huntingdon Park as a residential 11% location

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Appendix 3 The social wellbeing framework

Carrying out a social impact assessment within this statutory framework requires attention to a conceptual framework for thinking about social well being, and the factors which might contribute to people’s experience of social well being. Such a conceptual framework, which has been adopted in a range of other SIAs50 and social research contexts in New Zealand in recent years comes from social indicators work in the OECD51 and closely parallels the framework adopted by the Ministry of Social Development52. The OECD study identified key areas of social life which shape well being:

- the state of physical and mental health; - the quality of housing, shelter, neighbourhood and living place; - opportunities for formal education and lifelong learning; - opportunities for income, employment and the quality of working life; - opportunities for leisure and recreation, time to enjoy them, and access to quality outdoors/open space; - access to public facilities, transport, communications, and access to goods and services; - the quality of the physical environment, a clean environment with aesthetic appeal; - influences on family life, social attachment, social contact, interaction and support; - influences on participation in community and society, including participation in organised groups and social activities; and - influences on personal safety, public safety, autonomy or freedom from too much risk.

In conducting this SIA, consideration was given to whether or not the proposed project is likely to have consequential effects on any of these areas of social life, and for which communities of interest this is most likely to be the case.

50 e.g. Assessment of the effects of project Aqua on local communities and development of community mitigation proposals, for Kurow Aqua Liaison Committee, 2003; SIAs carried out on several wind farm proposals between 2005 and 2007 and on the Wairau Valley HEPS in 2005; social analyses carried out for assessing the social implications of commercial retail strategy development in Christchurch City between 2003 and 2005, social assessment carried out on a Structure Plan proposal in North Shore City in 2007.

51 OECD, 1998.

52 e.g. Ministry of Social Development, 2003.

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Appendix 4 Trends in usually resident population and permanently occupied dwellings (Source: Statistics NZ, 2006. Census of Population and Dwellings)

Area 2001 population53 2006 population % change ‘01-‘06

Ashburton District 25,443 27,382 7.6%

Ashburton urban area 11,496 11,931 3.8%

Northern peri-urban 1,182 1,530 29.4%

Southern peri-urban 396 549 38.6%

Southeast of Tinwald, 213 312 46.5% including Lake Hood

Area 2001 dwellings54 2006 dwellings % change ‘01-‘06

Ashburton District 10,164 10,926 7.5%

Ashburton urban area 4,932 5,073 2.9%

Northern peri-urban 417 558 33.8%

Southern peri-urban 141 189 34.0%

Southeast of Tinwald, 81 111 37.0% including Lake Hood

53 Population = Usually Resident Population

54 Dwellings = Permanently Occupied Private Dwellings

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