Green Party’s Sue Kedgley To Speak At Pararapumu Airport Protest Meeting

The Paraparaumu Airport Coalition says the Green Party’s civil aviation spokesperson, Sue Kedgley, MP, has just announced she is able to speak at the Airport protest meeting tomorrow night (15/2/07).

The Coalition’s convenor, KCDC Councillor Alan Tristram,says this means that two key MP’s will be speaking at the massive public meeting at Southwards Car Museum, starting at 7p,m.

The other MP, Darren Hughes, MP for Otaki, will give details of progress on his Airport Authorities Amendment Bill, which will curtail or stop non-aviation development at the Airport.

Proposals by the Auckland developers who now own Paraparaumu Airport have ignited widespread public opposition, says the Coalition.

“The original Airport zone of 133 hectares is reduced to less than 45 hectares in the latest plans!” says Cr Tristram.

Earlier, this month, the Kapiti Coast District Council, in a surprise 5-4 vote, threw out the developers’ proposals.

Mr Noel Robinson, spokesman for the Developers, has not announced whether they will appeal to the Environment Court or attempt to lodge new proposals with the KCDC.

Cr Tristram says the Regulatory Committee chair, Cr Diane Ammundsen, tried to arrange a non-scheduled extra meeting of her committee later this month to consider the Airport proposals again,.

But, he says, the meeting proposal was cancelled after sharp criticism from some councillors.

The Airport Coalition is now calling on the KCDC, and the Auckland developers, to withdraw all the Airport proposals so that full-scale public consultation can be carried out with the Kapiti public for the first time.

“Local people are particularly worried about the loss of open space and the massive scale of business and commercial development which
Is proposed,” says Councillor Tristram.

ENDS

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