Draft Plan Change 25 – Shelterbelts and Crop Protection Structures
Draft Plan Change 25 seeks to amend provisions in the Rural Zone of the Operative Waipā District Plan relating to the protection of crops.
Key steps and dates
| Milestones | Date |
| Update and finalise plan change and provisions | November 2024 |
| Feedback Response Document Available | Wednesday, November 13, 2024 |
| Initial feedback closed | 5pm Friday, October 18, 2024 |
| Pre-recorded Stakeholder Webinar | Friday, October 4, 2024 |
| Initial feedback opens | Monday, September 9, 2024 |
| Council resolution to progress PC25 | June 2024 |
What is Plan Change 25?
Draft Plan Change 25, to the Operative District Plan, will be considering provisions relating to:
- The establishment and maintenance of shelterbelts
- The construction of crop protection structures associated with farming activities, mainly horticulture.
The objectives of the plan change are to ensure:
- The efficient and effective use of rural land for farming purposes is maintained
- Adverse effects on the environment arising from shelterbelts and artificial crop protection structures are appropriately mitigated
- That the District Plan accounts from the changing land use pattern in a manner consistent with national direction (National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land, and National Environmental Standard for Commercial Forestry)
- Avoidance of unnecessary resource consent requirements.
Background
Traditionally, the Waipā District has had a primarily pastoral farming environment, with some horticulture. These are both 'farming activities' under the District Plan. More recently, climate change and a need to diversify has seen horticulture become more common in the district. With this, the need for shelterbelts and artificial crop protection structures have increased in the Rural Zone.
The District Plan has provisions for ‘farming activities’, these include:
- Crop protection structures are deemed to be a building for the purposes of the bulk and location standards (e.g. setbacks from boundaries, height, site coverage) and are associated with the permitted farming activities.
- Shelterbelts are controlled by the maximum height a shelterbelt plant species can grow to – being 6 metres.
- Crop protection structures, and in certain instances for shelterbelts, require resource consent when located in identified landscape areas.
Community, industry, and council have raised concerns regarding the effectiveness of these provisions, and how the flow-on effects from these structures and shelterbelts should be managed and mitigated.
The intent of Plan Change 25 is to address these concerns and provide greater certainty on how crop protection can occur in the Rural Zone.
What has been done so far?
In August 2023, the council resolved to prepare a draft plan change (Plan Change 30) to address minor technical amendments, which included crop protection structures and shelterbelts.
The focus under Plan Change 30 was amending the shelterbelt rule relating to species, amending yard setbacks, and introducing standards for shade cloth materials related to crop protection structures in the Rural Zone.
The current District Plan provisions were reviewed following contact with industry representatives and concerned landowner groups. This review resulted in the council resolving to separate these topics into Plan Change 25.
More information
Key stakeholder engagement starts Monday, September 9, and ends 5pm Friday, October 18, 2024. Feedback will be used to inform further redrafting of the plan change before public notification for submissions early 2025. Information about making a formal submission on PC 25 will be available at that time.
A pre-recorded webinar published Friday, October 4.
Feedback has now closed, you will have another opportunity to have your say early in 2025. Head to Have Your Say – Plan Change 25 for more information or contact the District Plan team via email: districtplan@waipadc.govt.nz.
