North Canterbury News: November 16, 2023

4 The
NEWS
North Canterbury News, November 16, 2023
Plannedvibrant coastal community begins
By SHELLEY TOPP
Ablock of sections at Kairaki Beach, near
Kaiapoi, are up for lease.
The Te Kōhaka o Tūhaitara Trust,
which manages Tūhaitara Coastal Park,
says the sections will be available in
stages.
Expressions of interest in stage one
opened on Friday, November 10.
The trust is working with Ready
Property Managers on the regeneration
development project.
AReady Property Managers
spokesperson says the aim of the
development is to provide an attractive
vibrant coastal setting whichprovides
opportunities for residencyinnonpermanent
buildings, and which do not
detract from the natural values of the
environment.’’
Work on the project began in 2019 when
the Crown transferred 47 sections at
Featherstone Avenue, at Kairaki Beach,
to the trust as part of the Waimakariri
Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan.
‘‘The land was transferred in the form
of individual fee simple surveyed plots,
and subject to anumber of restrictions.’’
The restrictions include only building
non­permanent buildings, limiting
industrial and commercial activities, and
arequirement to offer the sections back
to the Crown if the trust wished to change
ownership of the land within 100 years.
During the last few years, the trust has
been working with Waimakariri District
Council regarding the definition of nonpermanent
buildings and the trustees are
now confident future lessees will be able
to obtain abuilding consent for dwellings
on the sections, provided they meet the
relevant building codes and are readily
removable.
The Waimakariri Residential Red Zone
Recovery Plan (Dec 2016) defines anonpermanent
structure as: ‘‘Any structure
that could be readily removed from asite,
including but not limited to caravans,
removable holiday baches and garden
sheds’’.
All proposed structures are subject to
the completion of aconcept plan and
prior approval by the trust.
Trust general manager Nick Chapman
says he is looking forward to honouring
the trust’s vision to enhance the land and
support the community’s desire to return
vibrancy to the area. The trust’s aim is
also to generate revenue from the project
to fund work in the park which includes
coastal protection, restoration, and
education.
Ready Property Managers will manage
the trust’s Kairaki Beach section leases,
and be responsible for managing lease
payments and ensuring compliance with
the obligations required under the lease
agreement.
For more information about the trust’s
Kairaki Beach sections for lease go to:
readyproperty.co.nz/kairaki
Trust takes leadinproviding data on nitrate leaching
ByDAVID HILL,
Local Democracy Reporter
Agroup of Waimakariri farmers plans to
assist Environment Canterbury in setting
new nitrate reduction targets.
The Waimakariri Landcare Trust is
lookingtotake the lead in providing
updated data to help inform the
development of anew regional policy
statement.
Oxford dairy farmer Cameron
Henderson, who is leadingthe project,
said farmers have made changes to their
farming operations since the development
of Plan Change 7tothe Canterbury Land
and Water Regional Plan, which came into
effect in September.
The recent Government Policy
Statement (GPS) on freshwater requires
Environment Canterbury (ECan) to notify
anew aregional policy statement by the
end of next year.
The short timeframe meant the regional
council did not have the time or resource
to reevaluate the modelling behind nitrate
reduction targets.
But changes made by Waimakariri
farmers have led to some significant
reductions in nitrate loss, while upgrades
to the Overseer monitoring software have
led to more accurate data, Mr Henderson
said.
On his own farm, the modelling
suggested nitrate leaching was between 80
and 100 kilograms per hectare, but last
year nitrate losses were an estimated 41kg/
ha.
‘‘Part of that will be the updates to
Overseer and more accurate climate
modelling, but we have also made aseries
of tweaks to our operation with slightly
lower stocking rates and lower inputs,’’ he
said.
‘‘What we are seeing is the overall
results on most intensive dairy farms on
the light soils in Waimakariri are leaching
about half what they were assumed to be
leaching.
‘‘So, if ECan is unable to do the work,
then it is on us to tell our own story.’’
He said it was not areflection on
Environment Canterbury, but the tight
timeframe the council was under.
Plan Change 7took 18 months and
covered the Waimakaririand the Ōrāri
Temuka Opihi Paeroa waters zones,
whereas the council was now updating all
10 zones at once.
Mr Henderson and the trust’s coordinator,Erin
Harvie, are working
alongside Aqualinc to collate existing
water quality monitoring data.
Several farmers have already
approached the trust, and the trust
planned to engage with Waimakariri
Irrigation Ltd, milk companies and Ngāi
Tahu.
They were keen to hear from more
Cameron Henderson.
farmers, who were happy to share their
data. The trust is hoping to collate data
over the next 12 months to present to
Environment Canterburyduring the
consultation process.
Toot for
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