District Plan consultation begins

CONSULTATION on a new Manawatu District Plan, which sets out the rules and policies for how people can develop and use land, has opened with the release of the District Plan review’s first public Discussion Document.

The 54-page document aims to identify the district’s most significant resource management issues.
Principal Planner, Wendy Thompson, said the District Plan was a significant legal document that was essentially the day-to-day rule book and game plan for Manawatu.

“There have been some big changes in the past 10 years since the last District Plan was developed,” she said, “and the way we view what is significant has also changed a lot in that time. It is important that we now work with the community to develop a new plan to prepare ourselves for the future.”

Ms Thompson said the Discussion Document was a starting point to working with the community and identifying what they felt required attention as part of the review.

A series of questions designed to encourage comment was included and people could fill in a feedback form in the document. The deadline for comments is Friday, September 17.

Council officers are also taking the Discussion Document to the public by providing information opportunities at the Feilding Farmers’ Market Days on August 6 and 20 and September 10. People interested in the District Plan review can visit the Feilding and District Information Centre between 10am and 2pm on those days to discuss the document with council staff.

Copies of the Discussion Document are available online at www.mdc.govt.nz/districtplanreview, the council’s office on Manchester Street, Feilding Public Library and Makino Aquatic Centre or by phoning (06) 323-0000.