Senate approved the City of Hamilton Plan 2001 yesterday although the Opposition said the document should have outlined how the planned changes will affect issues such as sewage treatment and traffic flow.

Government Sen. Michael Scott introduced the plan by stressing that it was important to revitalise residential living in the City.

He said: "Between 1980 and 1991, the residential population in the City decreased by 32 percent, and office space has increased, especially in the western half of the City."

"The key to the success of the City Plan 2001 is a partnership between architects, entrepreneurs, city managers and planners working together to create well-designed buildings in an attractive, vibrant city environment.

Opposition Senator Kim Swan said an increasing residential population would have a knock-on effect in how sewage problems should to be addressed.

"With increased bodies come increased waste," he said. "The time has come for us to look at what to do with raw sewage."

Sen .Swan also said the plan should have been more thorough in considering what the ramifications would be on the amount of traffic coming into Hamilton.

"Self-contained parking is one thing that needs to be looked at to relieve the burden on the infrastructure of the city.

"These are things that you have to look at when you try and work out a plan for sustainable future."

But Independent Senator Walwyn Hughes noted that Government was only responsible for such issues up to a point, and then it falls into the jurisdiction of the Corporation of Hamilton.

"There is no authority in the Ministry of the Environment to deal with some of the problems that can arise out of this. They would need to be dealt with the municipality itself, which in the end has to pay for them."

He applauded Government's vision of encouraging more people to live in the city but added that he sometimes felt the term `sustainable development' was "used to loosely".

"But the plan does encourage sustainable use and that's good. I also like the emphasis on having more pedestrianisation in certain areas."