Why has the Upper Clutha Landscape Schedules Variation been withdrawn?

    The Variation was notified in mid-July 2024 but was withdrawn due to an error with the mapping of the boundary of the Mata Au Clutha River ONF. We’ve now corrected this error and will renotify the Variation after we have received and considered feedback on the material to be incorporated by reference.

    When will you renotify this variation?

    We've corrected the error with the maps and will renotify the Variation after we have received and considered feedback on the material to be incorporated by reference.

    We're taking feedback on those maps proposed to be incorporated by reference from Monday 19 August through to Friday 30 August 2024.

    What is the purpose of the RCL landscape schedules?

    RCL schedules will record the important landscape values of an area. These schedules will assist Council and plan users with evaluating the appropriateness or otherwise of resource consent and plan change applications, and improve the efficiency of this process.

    What are landscape values?

    Landscape values encompass landscape character and visual amenity values. They relate to the things that we value about the places that we live, play, visit and work in.   

    They can be physical things (like mountains or rivers), things we experience (like views, how wild and remote a place looks to you) and those things that make a landscape meaningful to us (like mana whenua associations and traditions, historic elements and recreation features).  

    What is an RCL Area?

    A RCL corresponds to a Rural Character Landscape (RCL) area.  The term RCL is used in the District Plan and relates to all of the Rural zoned land that is not identified as an Outstanding Natural Feature or Outstanding Natural Landscape.  The RCL is not mapped in the Proposed District Plan, however has a range of policies in Chapter 21 that address the management of these parts of the District.

    Will the RCL schedules lead to new rules or resource consent requirements for my land?

    No. RCLs and their associated rules already exist in the District Plan, and will not be changed by the RCL schedules. The purpose of RCL schedules is to help with evaluating resource consent and plan change applications.

    How will the RCL schedules be used?

    The District Plan requires the maintenance of landscape character and the maintenance or enhancement of visual amenity values. If you are applying for a resource consent or plan change, Council will use these schedules as a ‘starting point’ for considering how the proposal will affect the landscape values of the RCL area.  

    What is material incorporated by reference?

    These are publications that help Proposed District Plan (PDP) users to interpret and comply with rules or other provisions within the Plan, and can be anything from specific maps, to design guidelines, or a code of practice.

    Do other places in New Zealand have similar schedules of landscape values?

    Yes.  Many places already have schedules of values for their very high value landscapes and features (referred to as Outstanding Natural Landscapes and Features).  Other places have schedules for their Amenity Landscapes (or RMA s7(c) landscapes), which are the type of landscape that RCL areas are.

    How have the RCL areas been mapped?

    A team of landscape architects and GIS experts have mapped the RCL areas in the Upper Clutha using a broad range of GIS resources such as 1m contour data, geomorphological mapping, land type mapping, soils mapping and the PDP zones and overlay mapping. Generally speaking, the RCL areas encompass a part of the Upper Clutha Basin that has a reasonably similar landscape character, particularly in terms of the underling landform or geomorphology.

    Why is there such a range in sizes across the mapped RCL areas?

    Several RCL areas amount to ‘fragments’ of RCL wedged between urban and ONF/L areas.  Others, such as the land to the east of the Clutha Mata-Au are large enough that distinct landscape character areas are evident.

    What happens next?

    As of June 2024, we’re taking feedback on the material incorporated by reference, which includes maps that identify certain areas of the Rural Character Landscapes in the Upper Clutha Basin. These maps relate to the landscape schedules that would be introduced to the PDP as part of the upcoming Variation to be notified in June 2024.

    We'll be notifying the Upper Clutha Landscape Schedules Variation in July 2024, which would introduce additional landscape schedules for one Outstanding Natural Feature (ONF) and 12 Rural Character Landscapes (RCL) in the Upper Clutha area.