Part 1 - Palmerston North City Council

gemconsulting
This natural character of the area will change as a result of the proposed works. The river channel will be
located closer to the right bank of the river and the river will take a more constant and gentler curve around
the corner as it did previously. The rock lining and upstream groyne will be visible for much of the time, the
exception being in flood events that exceed the annual return period flood level. The works may also see
the introduction of a public access to the left bank of the river. Some people may also find that the
presence of people on the left hand side of the river detracts from the character of the area. It is not
expected that there will be any change to any habitats offered by the Pari Reserve, and it is likely that there
will be improvements in habitats offered by the river due to the stabilisation of the erosion from the cliff
above.
The realignment of the Mangaotane Stream is not likely to change the natural character of the area to any
great extent. Currently the stream runs through exotic scrub before joining the river at the subject site and
is extremely difficult to identify from the right bank of the Manawatu River. Once realigned, the stream will
continue to flow through similar vegetation as it does now and would still be difficult to identify.
The access track between the river crossing and subject site on the left bank would likely be visible and
could detract from the natural character that bank. It is intended to top soil and grass all access tracks to
help prevent erosion and it is expected that the track would quickly revegetate with light scrub similar to
that around it after its use has ceased.
Effects on infrastructure (MWRC monitoring station and Fitzherbert Bridge)
The MWRC has a river monitoring station near the former Teachers College. This station is of considerable
importance to the Regional Council as it is used to monitor levels and flow rates of the river and in turn this
information is used in and to assess various resource consents and to inform policy development. Any
changes to the accuracy of the recordings from this station are likely to have on‐going effects and could
possibly affect third parties through the monitoring of resource consent conditions. Changes in the
accuracy of recordings from the station can occur though changes in the river bed. Regular monitoring of
the river bed is carried out to detect natural bed changes and the flow rating is maintained accordingly.
The proposed works have potential to cause changes to the channel bed profile that could affect the flow
ratings from the recording station. The applicant has been in discussions with the Council’s Catchment
Information Department regarding this issue and has reached an agreement that is satisfactory to both
departments of the Council. A copy of the agreement is attached to this report as Appendix G.
The Fitzherbert Bridge crosses the Manawatu River approximately 1km downstream of the subject site. The
proposed works will not affect the bridge in any way.
Effects on existing flood protection infrastructure
One of the reasons for carrying out the proposed works is to provide long term protection for existing flood
protection infrastructure. If left to erode the cliff, the river will eventually change direction and start to
undermine the flood protection structures on the right bank of the river. The proposed works will prevent
that from happening. Overall there will only be beneficial effects on the flood protection infrastructure.
Effects on adjacent and residential properties
Due to the erosion in this area very little of the works will actually occur in the river bed as surveyed. In fact
most of the works will occur on land titles that are owned by the PNCC (Lot 13 DP 72989 and Cliff Road
reserve), PMB Landco Ltd (Lot 51 DP 382375) and the Hargreaves title (Section 219 Town of Fitzherbert).
Essentially, the surveyed river bed is the adjacent property on the city side of the subject site and PMB
Landco Ltd and the PNCC own most of the land adjacent to the site on the left bank. Some of the reasons
for the proposal are to protect land adjacent to the river from undue erosion and to protect flood
protection structures from being undermined in the future. It is considered that the proposal will have
significant benefits for the adjacent land.
There are some residential properties on Waicola Drive that are starting to erode. The works will protect
these properties by preventing the river from undermining the eastern cliff below these properties.
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