Rural matter: Vegetation planting

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District Plan Review consultation now closed.

Initial public consultation on key draft changes to the current Selwyn District Plan closed on Monday 8 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

District Plan Review consultation now closed.

Initial public consultation on key draft changes to the current Selwyn District Plan closed on Monday 8 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 the current District Plan's rules for vegetation planting. These draft changes have been endorsed by the Selwyn District Council for further development as part of its District Plan Review.

How can I have a say?

To give us your feedback on the draft changes to, 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.

Background

Vegetation planting in the current District Plan

Within the current District Plan vegetation planting covers amenity plantings, plantations, and shelter belts. Amenity plantings are defined as vegetation that is immediately around a dwelling for the purposes of visual screening, shelter, or for aesthetic reasons. Additionally amenity plantings can include woodlots, orchards, and vineyards that are under four hectares in size and are only used by the household ie not for commercial gain.

Shelter belts are lines of vegetation no greater than 20 metres in width for the purpose of providing shelter from the wind.

Plantations is a catch-all definition that captures all vegetation that is not covered by the other two definitions. Rules for vegetation covered under plantations are usually more restrictive than for other types of vegetation.

Plantation forestry ie commercially harvested forestry blocks over one hectare in size are covered by the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF). The Selwyn District Plan needs to realign to be consistent with these regulations.

The current District Plan also covers the spread of wilding trees ie invasive trees by restricting certain trees from being planted in the district.


Have a question about vegetation planting and can't find the answer? We would like to hear from you.