Topp Twins Sing To Keep Clevedon Valley Rural

CLEVEDON CARES

Topp Twins Sing To Keep Clevedon Valley Rural

The Topp Twins have signalled their support for a campaign aimed at preventing intensive housing being built on man-made canals along the Wairoa River, near Clevedon.

Topp Twins sing to keep Clevedon Valley rural, more than $10,000 raised by concert

A capacity crowd cheered and cried with laughter during a concert in Clevedon's Village Hall, held by the iconic duo in support of local community action group, Clevedon CARES.

"We're right behind you all the way. Don't let them mess with your river. There are these big development proposals all over New Zealand but we've got to keep our beautiful spots safe for the next generation," Lynda Topp told the audience.

Clevedon CARES spokesperson, Mary Whitehouse, describes the concert, on Saturday 23rd June, as "a success on every level".

"The audience had a fantastic time and it was great to be able to welcome people from way beyond Clevedon, including a family who had come all the way from New Plymouth, after learning about the concert on our website.

"We were also cheered by the strong support the Topp Twins expressed for our fight against the canal project and by the fact that we raised more than $10,000 for the campaign," she says.

To be known as the Wairoa River Maritime Village, the proposed development would involve building 297 homes.

"This project would add up to a thousand extra people to our local population, placing a great strain on existing services and severely compromising the rural atmosphere of the gently beautiful Clevedon Valley," says Mary Whitehouse.

"As the canal development is for residential use only, the shops, businesses and services required by people living there would need to be built either in Clevedon itself or in the surrounding countryside, irrevocably changing their character.

"A further concern is the large-scale dredging of the river and sediment disposal that would be required, probably on a recurrent basis," she adds.

Amongst submissions to Manukau City Council from local residents last year, those against the canal project outnumbered those in favour by a ratio of six to one. A council committee concluded its hearing of submissions in April this year, with a decision expected in August.

ENDS