Which names for Richmond’s new suburbs?
The Tasman district town of Richmond is getting so big it may be time to partition it into suburbs but how many and what should they be called?
Tasman District Council environment and planning manager Dennis Bush-King has put forward names for four suburbs ‘‘to provoke the conversation if councillors wish to go down this path’’. Those suggestions are Richmond Central, Hope, Templemore and Waimea.
The choice of Richmond Central is selfexplanatory while Hope ‘‘formalises the traditional descriptor for this area’’, Bush-King says in a report on the matter.
Templemore was the name of the original farms in that area and also the name of the main distributor road, while Waimea was ‘‘a translocation of the term associated with the plains and the Waimea River but is a te reo name reflective of our history’’.
Drawing the boundary lines should be relatively easy but choosing names that reflect the history, development, or events could be more challenging, he says.
However, with a population of 15,600 and growing, Richmond was reaching the size and geographical spread where ‘‘it might be time to consider’’ dividing it into suburbs.
Richmond West is undergoing rapid development but the name is ‘‘not appropriate going forward’’, Bush-King says.
‘‘While on the compass it may be towards the west, some people associate it with the northern boundary of Richmond, while others are referring to it as Applebyfields or Lower Queen St.’’
Bush-King told elected members at a regulatory committee meeting on Thursday that he sought some direction on whether there was ‘‘any appetite’’ to liaise with the NZ Geographic Board Nga¯ Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa over suburb names for Richmond.
The naming of suburbs has to be approved by the geographic board.
Councillor Trevor Tuffnell, who is one of four elected members for the Richmond ward alongside Dana Wensley, Kit Maling and Mark Greening, said the ward councillors were due to get together in the near future, and the matter could be discussed ‘‘at that level and take it from there’’.
Councillor Anne Turley suggested the name Washbourn for Richmond Central.
In his report, Bush-King says staff can work with the ward councillors and iwi in preparing a consultation paper to bring back to the committee for release if the suburb proposal is to be pursued.