Letter to the Editor 1994 – Leave Lyndhurst land – shift the racecourse

Leave Lyndhurst land – shift the racecourse

Mr Editor. – It is surprising that the Hastings District Council would seriously consider destroying further some of our world-famous Heretaunga Plains land. On what basis?

Nation-wide encouragement of intelligent planting of trees in slip-prone gullies in order to control erosion and enhance production is at odds with the prospect of covering substantial valuable growing land with concrete and asphalt.

As an owner involved substantially in production in this area, I can vouch for the already depleted quantity of quality horticultural land.

Make no mistake, the Wattie (Heinz) operations are already constrained by this fact. The legacy of a Hastings District Council decision to open the Lyndhurst area would be the ultimate demise of that industry in this district.

An alternative: The Hastings District Council should cajole/persuade the Hawke’ s Bay Jockey Club and the A and P Society to join forces, also with proposed YMCA developments and enhance the existing, but underused, showgrounds (which no doubt might need some expansion) into a multi-function facility. This is something which the whole district could get behind.

This then would leave the existing racecourse for housing development, using a land resource which is already lost. Impossible? No. Difficult? Yes, but very desirable.

Am I being ungrateful to those who seem to be trying to make me a millionaire?

Hastings   E. F. Hill

Abridged. – Editor