Fourth Proposed District Plan Hearing Completed

The Proposed District Plan Hearings Panel has just completed the fourth hearing considering submissions to the Plan on Natural Hazards and the Residential Area. The next hearing, commencing 16 December 2014, will see us half way through the hearing process.

Mark Farnsworth, the Panel Chair, says "I am really pleased with the way the hearings are going. We are receiving quality representations in support of submissions." Mr Farnsworth also points out, "The minutes from each hearing are only a record of what was heard and discussed at that hearing. The Panel will not be making any recommended decisions to the Council until all the hearings are completed and all submissions and evidence are considered."

The hearing timetable is proposed to extend to May next year with the final hearing finishing on May 21. There are a number of key issues that require considerable care and attention and as a result the hearing schedule has been modified to accommodate resourcing, including expert input, submitters and their experts, decisions from the Environment Court on the Regional Policy Statement and to allow the Panel to undertake location visits around the District.

"As the hearing process has advanced it has become apparent that some of the big topics such as biodiversity and landscape and natural character require substantial input and have generated such interest in the hearings that they had to be moved to later in the timetable," says Mr Farnsworth.

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