Planning

Preconsultation

Plan Change 15 – Hutt river floodplain management plan

Click here for flood and erosion hazard maps >> 

The Upper Hutt City Council is in the process of initiating a plan change in order to bring the provisions of its District Plan in line with the Greater Wellington regional council’s Hutt river floodplain management plan (HRFMP).

The HRFMP identifies a number of structural and non-structural land use planning measures for reducing flood risk posed by the Hutt river. As a signatory to the HRFMP, the Upper Hutt City Council is committed to preparing a plan change to its District Plan pertaining to flood management for the Hutt river. The flood and erosion hazard information has been drafted for planning purposes to ensure that any future development within the Hutt river floodplain takes into account the potential flood and erosion hazards of the Hutt River.

Preliminary work has been undertaken in conjunction with the Greater Wellington Regional Council to research and draft relevant changes to the District Plan. These draft changes include:

• Identifying areas of the city subject to greater risk of flooding and erosion from the Hutt River (identified as the ‘River Corridor’ and ‘Building Setback Line’) and applying controls on building development, subdivision and earthworks;
• Replacing the existing 1 in 100 year flood extent with the term ‘Ponding’ and introducing new provisions with respect to building development and subdivision;
• Amending the resource management issues, objectives and policies of the District Plan relating to natural hazards (Chapter 14), specifically flooding; and
• Introducing new definitions to clarify these terms.

Specifically, the draft changes to the rules for the ‘River Corridor’, ‘Building Setback Line’ and ‘Ponding’ are:

• Buildings and structures to be erected within the newly created ‘River Corridor’ and ‘Building Setback Line’ would require a resource consent as a Non-Complying Activity;
• Buildings and structures to be erected within the ‘Ponding’ area would require a resource consent as a Restricted Discretionary Activity with Council’s discretion restricted to matters specifically concerning flooding;
• All subdivision within the ‘River Corridor’, ‘Building Setback Line’ and ‘Ponding’ areas would be a Non-Complying Activity; and
• Earthworks would require resource consent as a Restricted Discretionary Activity and would include consideration of the implications for the flooding hazard.

Maps of the proposed plan change are available for viewing here.

Feedback

Council is asking for informal feedback with respect to the draft changes. Following on from informal discussions Council will organise working group meetings which will give the public the chance to discuss any issues or concerns with representatives from both the Upper Hutt City and Greater Wellington Regional Councils. A number of meetings may be held for people with different areas of interest, depending on demand.

Please contact Mike Hurley at the Upper Hutt City Council on (04) 527-2169 if you are interested in attending a working group meeting prior to 26th February 2010. Council will then get back to you with a time, date and location for the meeting.

If you have any questions regarding this matter or in relation to the plan change process feel free to contact Mike Hurley on the phone number above or email mike.hurley@uhcc.govt.nz.

Alternatively, Sharyn Westlake from the Greater Wellington Regional Council is able to answer questions and provide specific technical advice on the flooding hazard of the Hutt river and can be contacted on (04) 801-1046 or by email sharyn.westlake@gw.govt.nz.

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