Retiree, Hope
I endorse Timo’s views on the dangers of urban sprawl which are very relevant to our area. Growing up in rural Tasman and a journey to Nelson went through the Richmond area, where I marvelled at the farms, orchards, vegie stalls and even piggeries that could be seen along the way. In later years shifting into Richmond with a teenage family entailed looking for horse grazing. We secured some close to Richmond up above Hill Street. Now it seems very sad to see houses increasingly encroaching on fertile farmland. They generally lack village facilities for community and shopping, meaning that roads into Richmond become progressively congested.