How living the semi rural lifestyle within the Auckland region is possible under the AUP

Planning Manager

Mike Dance, BUrbPlan(Hons), NZPI

 

In this blog post Planning Manager Mike Dance discusses how living the semi rural lifestyle within the Auckland region is possible under the Auckland Unitary Plan.

    Living a semi-rural is the aspiration of many an Aucklander, resulting in an ongoing high demand for new lifestyle lots within a commuting distance of Auckland.  The Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) provides for rural lifestyle subdivision but encourages these new developments to be located mainly in areas zoned as ‘Countryside Living’.  These areas are located on the urban fringe of Auckland such as Coatesville and Whitford or around smaller growing rural settlements like Helensville and Warkworth.     However, the AUP does consider smaller rural lifestyle developments in the wider rural area are appropriate when they are based on protecting and enhancing significant areas of indigenous biodiversity.  This is where Horizon can assist rural landowners.  We can quickly determine if a landholding has areas of indigenous vegetation or wetland that are significant and therefore qualify for protection, or alternatively potentially steeper and degraded areas of properties that would be suitable for replanting with native vegetation in lieu of creating new lifestyle lots.    

Seeking the right advice

Horizon can also guide rural landowners through the differing subdivision options of either creating the new sites in-situ (on-site) or alternatively transferring the sites to a Countryside Living zoned property or properties via the AUP’s Transferable Rural Site Subdivision (TRSS) provisions.     The AUP’s rural site subdivision provisions at first glance can seem confusing, but getting the right advice and a clear explanation of the process from the get-go is the key.  At Horizon we will undertake a thorough planning assessment of your site’s subdivision potential and give you clear advice on the options available for either creating the new site on your property or potentially transferring it off-site to another property, or a combination of both.     Therefore, if you have a significant area of native vegetation or wetland on your property that you think may qualify for protection or an area that you would like to revegetate in lieu of creating a new lifestyle lot, please give the team at Horizon a call today to discuss.        

This article was written by our Planning Manager Mike Dance . Mike has extensive knowledge of Town Planning in the Auckland region and has been working in the industry for over twenty years. As our Planning Manager Mike will be leading the team in the Mangawhai office. To find out more about our Planning services you can click here.