In the resource management space, the most significant thing to report this month is that the regional council has started to actively engage with the community about the Kotahi Plan – this is a plan that will apply across the entire region, and will cover all aspects of the environment – freshwater, biodiversity, climate change, soil management, the coastal and marine area, natural hazards, energy, transport and infrastructure. It will replace/incorporate the regional policy statement, resource management plan (including the Tukituki and TANK plan changes, and the coastal environment plan).
At this stage the council is focusing on understanding what is important to the community about the environment in Hawke’s Bay – what do you want to see to make the environment better. There is an online tool that you can use to do this, which you will find here
The council is also running some drop-in sessions – some of these have already occurred, but there is one at the Ellwood Function Centre on 8 September 2022 from 2-7pm if you wanted to drop in and talk to a council staff member. Also feel free to email me your thoughts and I can collate those and provide them to the council. It is really important that we highlight the importance of a healthy environment that can support food production so that it is recognised as being something that is important to the community, so if you do have a few minutes I would encourage you to provide some feedback to council in whichever way you feel most comfortable. If you are interested in reading more, there is plenty of information available on the Council website: The Kotahi Plan | Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (hbrc.govt.nz)
As always, if you have any RMA questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me directly via email at Charlotte.Drury@hortnz.co.nz or on 027 3225595.
Dr Charlotte Drury,
View Consult, Consultant Planner on behalf of Horticulture New Zealand
