Complete agenda for October 2009 Council Meeting (pdf, 1610KB)

Northland Regional Council - 21 October 2009 Page 27 Item 7An alternative has been suggested and the KDC is now discussing this with theapplicant and the NRC is awaiting its response. It is envisaged that this appeal willbe able to be resolved without the need for a formal Environment Court hearing.Pre-hearing Meeting – Port Nikau Private Plan Change to WDC District PlanPort Nikau Limited applied for a private plan change to the Whangarei District Plan torezone land at Port Whangarei. The NRC previously lodged a submission on thisprivate plan change request. A pre-hearing meeting was held on 29 September 2009and was attended by staff. The pre-hearing meeting was chaired by an independentcommissioner and there were a large number of submitters present. The next step inthis process will be a formal hearing as all the outstanding matters do not appear tobe able to be resolved by the WDC.Submission on Proposed National Policy Statement for FreshwaterManagementOn 16 September 2009, staff presented the Council submission to the Board ofInquiry, which was set up by the Minister for the Environment for the ProposedNational Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. The Board asked a numberof questions relating to the NRC’s submission (which was submitted back in January2009). Matters which the Board asked questions on included:• How the NRC currently managed water allocation though its regional plan;• What the biggest issues were for Northland in terms of water management;• What were some examples of ‘naturally degraded’ waters in Northland; and• Whether water allocation should include both in-stream and out of stream uses.The Board is due to report back to the Minister ‘as required’ (according to the Ministryfor the Environment’s website).INFRASTRUCTURERegional Land Transport Strategy – A formal application for a six month extensionof time for the completion of the Regional Land Transport Strategy has been lodgedwith the Transport Minister. Work continues on preparing the draft RLTS inaccordance with the statutory and audit requirements whilst ensuring the RLTS is adocument for the region.Marsden Point Rail Link – A statement of evidence was prepared in support of theapplication by Ontrack for designation of the Marsden Point Rail Link. The hearingwas completed on 23 September and a decision is expected by the middle ofOctober.Infrastructure Strategy – A draft regional infrastructure strategy has beendeveloped, focusing on the key infrastructure for the region and identifying the longterm,30 to 50 year goals for that infrastructure. The Strategy identifies how wewould attempt to achieve the various infrastructure goals as well as the indicators ofsuccess that we will use to ensure we are progressing towards the goals. Thestrategy will now be tested against the environmental and economic strategies toensure we have the right infrastructure for Northland’s future development.Regional Growth StrategyThe strategies for the Environment, Economy and Infrastructure have been drafted.Work is continuing to finalise strategies and the process of integrating these toproduce the Regional Growth Strategy.