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Consultation has concluded
District Plan Review consultation now closed.
Initial public consultation on key draft changes to the current Selwyn District Plan's rules for sites and areas of cultural significance closed on Tuesdat 23 October 2018. Thank you to everyone who let us know what they thought of the review so far.
What’s next?
Following this initial public consultation on the District Plan Review, the Council will consider all feedback and start developing detailed provisions for the Proposed District Plan. Please note that a summary report on the initial public consultation will be made available on Your Say Selwyn website at www.selwyn.govt.nz/districtplanreview.
It’s expected the Proposed District Plan will be notified in early 2020 for formal public consultation. The longer timeframe is due to the local government elections at the end of 2019 and ensuring the newly elected Council endorses the Proposed District Plan before it gets notified.
We want to know what you think about the draft changes to sites and areas of cultural significance related rules and policies in the current District Plan. These draft changes have been endorsed by the Selwyn District Council for further development as part of its District Plan Review.
To give us your feedback on the draft changes , you can:
There will be many consultation opportunities for feedback at different stages of the District Plan Review and this is the first such opportunity. It’s expected that the new District Plan will be notified in early 2020 and be fully in place, subject to any Environment Court appeals, in March 2022.
Ngāi Tahu are Tāngata Whenua of the Canterbury region and hold ancestral and contemporary relationship with Canterbury.
Councils have specific statutory requirements to provide for the relationship with Māori and their customs and traditions with their ancestral land, water, sites, wāhi tapu and other taonga. For our region the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement clearly sets out the need for local authorities to engage with Ngāi Tahu and Papatipu Rūnanga to identify and protect historic heritage and cultural landscapes from inappropriate development activities, including subdivision.
Wāhi tapu and wāhi taonga are defined in the current District Plan as “...sacred places, which are held in reverence according to tribal custom…” Examples of such sites and areas include tauranga waka (canoe landing sites), waiwhakaheketupapaku or urupū (burial sites) and tuhituhi o nehera (rock drawing sites).
The current District Plan’s approach to the identification and management of sites and areas of cultural significance is based on the following four cultural landscape categories:
Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga and Te Taumutu Rūnanga presented a Sites and Areas of Cultural Significance report to Council for their consideration when drafting new planning provisions for the new District Plan. The Council’s District Plan Committee endorsed the report which will form the basis for further development of draft changes to the current District Plan. Key recommendations from the report include:
Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga and Te Taumutu Rūnanga presented a Sites and Areas of Cultural Significance report to Council for their consideration when drafting new planning provisions for the new District Plan. The Council’s District Plan Committee endorsed the report which will form the basis for further development of draft changes to the current District Plan. Key recommendations from the report include:
2. Wāhi tapu and wāhi taonga: sites and places that are culturally and spiritually significant to mana whenua history and identity. It would include the following subcategories:
- Silent files: a tool to protect culturally significant sites as it provides a general location of the site, but does not identify the exact site.
- Maunga Tapu/Tūpuna: mountains which are considered to be the most sacred part of a landscape.
- Key Pā/Kāinga/Mahinga Kai sites: several ancestral pa, kainga and significant nohoanga within the district.
- Nga Puna: springs which are tapu (sacred).
3. Ngā Tūranga Tūpuna: refers to larger extents of land within which there is a concentration and broader range of culturally significant sites. It would include: Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, its margins and associated wetlands; Rakaia River and Taumutu.
4. Ngā Wai: represents water. It would include selected waterbodies and their margins:
- Ngā Awa: major rivers and their tributaries within the district.
- Ngā Roto: lakes within the district.
- Ngā Hāpua: lagoons within the district.
- Ngā Repo: wetlands within the district.
As a result of the review of current policies and rules specific to sites and areas of cultural significance, the following issues with the current District Plan have been identified:
As a result of the review of current policies and rules specific to sites and areas of cultural significance, the following issues with the current District Plan have been identified: