And this is where good neighbourhood planning for preservation of amenity values comes in. There needs to be a strong public debate about what is good and worth preserving about local neighbourhoods, and what can be done to enhance them? It is not enough to leave it to Council planners who do not know the area, and whose brief is to facilitate the private interests of developers over community interests. We do have a strong sense of place in St Albans. We need to prepare now to leave that characteristic of community concern and valued heritage that makes up St Albans’ unique set of “amenity values” for the next generation. (Taken from Doug Craig’s Amenities And The Resource Management Act, St Albans News, June 2008