Public to Get Say on Rural Environment's Future

Proposed District Plan changes to protect rural character would not close the door on lifestyle subdivisions.

Manager Environmental Strategy and Policy Colin Comber says there would still be opportunity for smaller subdivisions if the proposed changes are approved.

“What we’re doing is recommending a higher standard for what people can do as of right in the rural area – such as subdividing to no less than 20ha in most cases,” he says.

“This doesn’t prevent smaller subdivisions for lifestyle properties taking place. There are larger properties that have not been subdivided before that will still be entitled to a smaller lot than 20ha as of right, while other lifestyle property proposals would be considered through a resource consent process.”

Tonight (Tuesday) NPDC’s Policy Committee gave its approval for the proposed District Plan changes to be notified for public submissions.

“This proposed plan change is the first outcome of the rural review we began in August 2008, which aims to make sure that future generations get to enjoy the open spaces and iconic landscapes that we have today,” says Mr Comber.

“We want to make sure not only that the rural character is maintained, but that there is also some opportunity for lifestyle subdivisions – particularly for those larger properties that have typically not been subdivided under the current District Plan.”

The current subdivision standard is resulting in farm land being broken up for housing, with the resulting lots generally too large for good-quality lifestyle subdivision, he says.

“The proposed changes are intended to be a fine tuning of the District Plan provisions to manage rural subdivision away from the trend toward the wholesale division of farms while still allowing for small lot creation, but with an emphasis on retaining rural spaciousness.

Since 1999 there has been a significant increase in subdivision and associated development in rural areas – particularly since the rural review was announced in 2008.

This has created an oversupply of vacant lots subdivided for housing in New Plymouth District’s rural area, with some larger subdivisions having the potential for relatively intensive development.

The plan change comprises policies and associated rules to control the scale, location, density and design of both subdivisions and activities, including minimum lot sizes, minimum setbacks, reduced site coverage, and landscaping requirements.

Public submissions will open near the end of the month.