MAHIA BEACH TOWNSHIP STRUCTURE PLAN
Introduction
The Wairoa Coastal Strategy:
In July 2003 Wairoa District Council commissioned Beca Planning to prepare a Wairoa Coastal Strategy / Te Maahere Taatahi ki te Wairoa for the Wairoa District. The Wairoa Coastal Strategy establishes a strategic, integrated framework for managing the protection, use and development of the coastal environment within the Wairoa District.
To achieve this vision, the Wairoa Coastal Strategy is made up of district wide objectives and policies, local community statements and implementation plans. A key part of the local implementation of the Wairoa Coastal Strategy is local structure plans prepared for priority areas within the Wairoa coastal environment. The Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan will sit beneath the Wairoa Coastal Strategy and once adopted will be integrated into statutory application through a Variation or Plan Change to the Wairoa District Plan.
What are Structure Plans?
Further direction for the Wairoa Coastal Strategy at the local level will be identified and developed through the ongoing preparation and use of Structure Plans. A Structure Plan is a concept plan and supporting text that integrates the protection, use, management and development of land and resources in a local area. In other words, the structure plan is a broad physical plan (or map) identifying areas of growth, protection, parks and other infrastructure and community requirements over at least the next 20 years. The structure plan sets out how to implement the vision of the Wairoa Coastal Strategy at a local level.
The structure plans can be implemented by support provided through the funding mechanisms of Wairoa District Council and key partners (such as Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Ministry for the Environment), in so doing a range of options are considered to meet the costs of any identified areas of growth. After consultation with the local community these plans are then adopted by Council and promoted as a Variation or series of staged Plan Changes and are also adopted for inclusion with other management functions and plans of key partners.
The Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan has been prepared in a philosophy of partnership between the community and Council, as well as through consultation and participation with other key stakeholders. The following provides a summary of the key stages of development for this structure plan.
How was the Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan prepared?
Background Research:
On the basis of the Wairoa Coastal Scoping Study, the Wairoa Coastal Strategy and investigations already undertaken by Wairoa District Council (including the 1992 Mahia Study, Wairoa 2007 – 10 Year Plan and Mahia Beach Environmental Study) and by other agencies (in particular the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Historic Places Trust, DoC, etc) base information was collected on the key technical issues, constraints and opportunities for use, development and protection in the Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan.
Community Participation:
Consultation was undertaken with the community and key stakeholders asking them to identify key constraints and opportunities. There were three main rounds of consultation.
Round 1 focused on the identification of issues and a vision for the Mahia Beach Township Community. The Project Team held a workshop at Kaiuku Marae on 27 September 2003 to identify potential opportunities and constraints, 46 people attended and participated.
Round 2 of the Mahia Beach Township community consultation involved reviewing the issues, outcomes and visions identified in Round 1 and work-shopping in smaller groups to discuss specific details relating to urban growth, development, environmental protection, constraints, and public and commercial facilities. A workshop was held at Ruawharo Marae on 22 November 2003 with approximately 30 community participants attending. In both workshops ‘ideas catcher’ maps, work sheets and meeting minutes were used to record community feedback.
Round 3 provided an opportunity for feedback on the draft Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan. A workshop was held at Mokotahi Hall on Friday 12 March 2004 with approximately 30 community participants. The workshop focused on reviewing the draft Concept Plan and discussing the action plan.
Those that participated or provided feedback by attending a public workshop and group meetings (as part of the Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan or the Wairoa Coastal Strategy), or provided informal feedback via telephone calls, feedback forms, letters and additional meetings are identified below:
- Mahia Beach Residents
- Land owners
- Rongomaiwahine Trust
- Mahia Maori Committee
- Local business owners and operators
- Bach owners
- Federated Farmers
- Councillors
- NZ Historic Places Trust
- Department of Conservation
- Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and
- Other interested parties
The main focus of the consultation rounds was for the community and Council to identify particular significant issues and outcomes sought for the long-term development of the Mahia Beach Township area (the future social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being). It also provided an opportunity to continue to develop the partnerships between the community and the Council for managing the coastal environment.
Draft Structure Plan:
Following identification with the community and stakeholders of the key constraints and desired outcomes for the Mahia Beach Township settlement, the Project Team summarised the key themes and presented a draft Concept Plan. The community discussed the relative importance or priority of the key structure plan outcomes, which has assisted in the development of the Action Plan and Priorities (refer to Section 4 of this report).
Public Submission on the Draft Structure Plan:
After the Wairoa District Council approved the draft report and concept plan in mid-April 2004, the Mahia Beach Township community had the opportunity to give feedback and submissions on the Structure Plan. The Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan was then amended and finalised in August 2004 prior to adoption by Council.
Documents:
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Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan (1.4 MB)
To find out more about the Mahia Beach Township Structure Plan you can contact the Wairoa District Council on (06) 838 7309.
