649 days ago

Waimakariri mayor plans to ensure local voices are heard

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By David Hill, local democracy reporter

Waimakaririmayor Dan Gordon hopes to raise his council’s concerns about the planning process over the coming months.

Gordon has been appointed to a Ministerial Advisory Group — the resource management reform local government steering group — along with mayors, council chief executives and Ministry for the Environment officials.

The steering group will advise the government on the Natural and Built Environments Bill, the Spatial Planning Bill and the Climate Adaptation Bill, which were set to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA).

‘‘We will be working to make sure local government’s and our communities’ voices are heard and understood.’’

Gordon has already raised concerns with Environment Minister David Parker during last year’s Local Government Conference around the ability of developers to make private plan change requests while a council is in the process of reviewing its District Plan.

The question came to light after a private plan change request was lodged by Rolleston Industrial Developments Ltd.

The request sought to develop a new sub-division at Ohoka, while the council was still completing its Waimakariri District Plan review.

Gordon asked if there could be a moratorium placed on private plan change requests.

"I have heard back from the Minister’s office, and it is being considered as part of the RMA reforms."

He said he would raise the question again through the Ministerial Advisory Group.

*Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air

More messages from your neighbours
A
3 days ago

TV 1 last night.

Anne from Rangiora

Did any body watch A Remarkable Place to Die last night?
Did I miss something at the end as it went straight to the next program after the adds.with no finish

5 days ago

Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.

John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!

As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!

John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.

Share your question below now ⬇️

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1 day ago

Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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