Canterbury wetland projects receive funding boost
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Eight Waimakariri environmental projects are set to receive a funding boost, including three wetland projects near Kaiapoi.
The Waimakariri Zone Committee has recommended eight projects receive a share of the remaining balance of $66,000 from its 2023-24 action plan budget.
Chairperson Carolyne Latham said 12 applications were received for projects totalling $150,000.
‘‘Nine of the projects met the criteria.
‘‘Some of the projects have only been allocated partial funding to meet the budget that we have, but we hope it will be enough to at least complete aspects of those projects.’’
Three wetland projects north of Kaiapoi are among those set to receive funding.
Two allocations of $15,000 have been recommended for a bittern and īnanga (whitebait) rushland project and for a fencing and planting project at nearby O’Kair Lagoon, on the side branch of the McIntosh’s Drain waterway.
A nearby Pohio Wetland project has also received $11,700.
A restoration project at Hunters Stream at Springbank, between Rangiora and Oxford, will receive $5285, and a wetland enhancement project at Ketchum Cottage, Fernside, near Rangiora, will receive $7210.
Other projects include a riparian enhancement project ($6000) at Whiterock Mains, near Oxford, and year three of monitoring by the Sefton Saltwater Creek Catchment Group ($2805).
The remaining $3000 has been allocated to the Waimakariri environmental awards, being run by the Waimakariri Biodiversity Working Group.
The Ashley Rakahuri Rivercare Group received $9000 towards its ongoing estuary shorebird monitoring in July last year.
Each of the 10 Canterbury water zones were allocated $75,000 from Environment Canterbury’s 2023/24 annual plan to distribute to projects which support the implementation of their local zone action plan.
The final decision on the funding will be made at the next Environment Canterbury water and land committee meeting next mopnth.
The Waimakariri Zone Committee is a joint committee of Environment Canterbury and the Waimakariri District Council.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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Waimakariri district plan faces more delays amid changing rules
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Changing Government legislation is causing headaches for council staff, as Waimakariri’s new District Plan is set to be delayed again.
Waimakariri District Council development planning manager Matt Bacon said he was relieved when the last of the public hearings ended last week.
But with final council reports due on December 13, staff will have just two working days to present the final District Plan on December 17. A district plan helps to control and manage the development of the district or city.
‘‘We are working through what it looks like and we will update the council at its meeting on December 3,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘But we will likely seek another extension from the environment minister and the Resource Management Act (RMA) minister.’’
The council first notified its draft District Plan in September 2021, but within months legislation was introduced with new medium density residential housing standards (MDRS).
‘‘We needed to call for further submissions and we had to create a separate hearing panel to consider the plan variations to allow for the MDRS,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘We have tried to merge the process as much as possible, as well as looking at re-zoning and incorporating other new legislation.’’
When the draft plan was first notified there was no National Policy Statement (NPS) for Indigenous Biodiversity, but an NPS was introduced - and then replaced.
The Natural and Built Environment Act came into being last year and then repealed, and then there is the NPS on Urban Development and the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
The Government is now working on more RMA reforms and Environment Canterbury is working on the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.
And then there is the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, which includes three proposed housing developments in Waimakariri - two of them outside of the future urban development areas identified in the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
All three housing developments in the Bill have been included in submissions to the District Plan, including a proposed 850-home development at Ohoka, near Rangiora, which is also subject to an Environment Court appeal.
‘‘We haven’t seen the detail, so whether it is the same proposals, we don’t know, but they are different processes so we have to just keep doing what we are doing, until we are told otherwise,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘It might just be a timing thing, but we just don’t know.’’
Bacon said delaying the District Plan until new legislation is in place is not an option.
‘‘We are looking at what we can control and having a watching brief, and we will look at transitional timings because we don’t always have to immediately change planning documents when new legislation comes in.’’
Planning manager Wendy Harris said navigating changing Government legislation is a normal part of council planning work.
‘‘If we waited we wouldn’t do anything and we would go nowhere.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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