Key draft changes for the future District Plan

The Council’s District Plan Committee has recently endorsed the following draft changes for further development, which we’re now consulting on:

• Introduce an amended definition for intensive farming so that it’s defined as a commercial activity which predominantly occurs indoors and where the stock density or nature of the activity doesn’t maintain ground cover.Ground cover will be assessed on a common sense basis.
• Intensive farming excludes small scale home production of pigs in rural areas which involves no more than 25 weaned pigs or six sows.
• Intensive farming becomes a permitted activity within the Proposed District Plan as long as the activity is within the Rural Zone and meets certain (yet to be established) permitted development standards. These standards could include building characteristics, supplying location details, noise, transport and lighting.
• Intensive farming will still need an air discharge consent from Environment Canterbury to address any potential odour and dust effects, regardless of the activity becoming permitted under the Proposed District Plan.
• Introduce a definition of extensive farming where the point of difference with intensive farming is that the stocking density is such that the ground cover is maintained.
• Keep the 300-metre reverse sensitivity setback between a new residential development and an existing intensive farming activity except if the dwelling is located on the same site as the intensive farm.