Part 1 - Palmerston North City Council

gemconsulting
It is considered that the permanent effects of the proposal on the environment will be minor. While the
rock lining and groyne will be visible they will be low‐lying. The beach will return to the inside corner of the
river and the river will be located as it was in the early nineties.
7 RELEVANT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES
There are numerous objectives and policies under the various policy statements and plans that need to be
considered when assessing this proposal. The key objectives and policies are addressed below.
7.1 National Policy Statements
The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2011 took effect from 1 July 2011 and includes
the following objectives [summarised] among others:
To safeguard the life supporting capacity, ecosystem processes and indigenous species of fresh water
(Objective A1 & B1),
The overall quality of freshwater within a region is maintained or improved (Objective A2),
To avoid over allocation of fresh water and phase out existing over allocation (Objective B2),
To improve and maximise efficient allocation and use of water (Objective B3),
To protect significant values of wetlands (Objective B4).
The policy statement and its objectives and policies must be considered in relation to these applications.
The first two objectives have some relevance to this proposal and it is considered that the proposal is not
inconsistent with either of them. Whilst there will be some short term disruption to habitats with the
subject site, the works will provide a more stable environment in the longer term that will be suitable for
the re‐establishment of any habitat lost.
Some discharge of sediment is inevitable from the disturbance of the river bed and gravels despite all
practicable measures. This will be a short term duration effect and would be far less than what the river
carries naturally in flood events. Again, in the longer term the works will prevent the erosion of the cliff
which is a significant source of sediment entering the river.
7.2 Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council Planning Documents
7.2.1 Operative Regional Policy Statement
Objective 15 and Policies
Objective 15 seeks to preserve the natural character of rivers and their margins and protect their ecological,
cultural, intrinsic and amenity values from inappropriate subdivision, use and development.
The objective has four policies associated with it which, in addition to preserving the natural character of
rivers, outline matters to be considered when determining the natural character of a river and for
determining whether a proposed use or development is inappropriate. Policy 15.4 also requires the
Regional Council to consider whether the water body is regionally significant.
It is identified above that there are some elements of natural character present at the site. The left bank of
the river (below the cliff) has little sign of human modification and the vegetation of Pari Reserve and the
river bank (although predominately exotic weed species) does add to the character of the area. Above the
cliff, dwellings are visible and there are very obvious signs of human intervention. It is considered that
while there is a certain degree of natural character associated with the immediate rivers edge at the site,
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