Planner reverses decision on land

By ELLEN TIAMU
CHIEF Physical Planner Raphael Nagual has reversed a decision by the Morobe physical planning board to convert land – S.41 L.89 Lae – next to the Scouts Hall at Eriku into a residential area.
The decision overturns a decision by the board on Sept 14 to alter the zone from open space for sporting purposes to residential.
On Aug 19, the chief physical planner attended a meeting of the board and advised that the members had been appointed illegally.
He arranged for a letter to be sent to the Morobe provincial executive committee to appoint a new committee according to the Physical Planning Act 1989.
However, a special meeting of the provincial board on Sept 14 reached a decision to alter the sports field from open space to residential, with only selected members of the board in attendance.
The town planner and a planning assessment and impact statement were absent.
There had been plans to turn the Eriku sporting area into a residential housing estate and to do this, zoning had to be changed to residential.
Some members of the community in Lae have commended the move by Nagual, saying his decision had saved the public recreational area.
Other recreational areas such as Stewart Park are now owned by business people.