Further submission process open for Proposed Plan Change 2

Horizons Regional Council is calling for further submissions to the original submissions received for Proposed Plan Change 2 (PPC2).

PPC2 addresses current issues within the One Plan’s nutrient management policy and rule framework. Anyone with an interest in the proposed plan change was invited to make a submission to Council by 21 October.

Horizons strategy and regulation group manager Dr Nic Peet says the further submission process allows people to support or oppose other people's submissions, and to comment on how a submission could impact them.

“Submissions should indicate whether they support or oppose all or some of the aspects of the original submission and include information to support their views,” he says.

Dr Peet says there are some rules that apply to the further submission process, which can be found on the Council’s website.

“People can also view the submissions we’ve received, along with a summary of submissions and decisions made,” he says.

“Further submissions must be received by 3 December 2019. Submitters will then have an opportunity to present their views or evidence to the panel of commissioners at a hearing, alongside the original submitters.”

All submission documentation, including online forms, can be found here.

The proposed plan change seeks to provide a workable framework for intensive land use – allowing a pathway for existing farmers and growers in target catchments to apply for resource consent, and for the Council to see greater progress towards environmental improvement.

The proposed plan change is focused on existing intensive farming land uses and includes the recalibration of Table 14.2 Cumulative Nitrogen Leaching Maximums (CNLM) with the most up to date version of Overseer. It affects existing intensive land users (dairy, intensive sheep and beef, commercial vegetable growing, and cropping) in specific catchments.