Protecting your slice of paradise

Horowhenua has gone through a period of huge growth in the last 10 years with communities spreading out and new subdivisions popping up around the district.
The Council is starting an ambitious project hoping to get as many people as it can interested and involved in shaping the future look and feel of the provincial towns and rural settings that make up Horowhenua.

Shaping Horowhenua - Our Place, Our Future is the name given to the District Plan Review, the review of existing rules and policies that control and manage what can and can't be done on land in the district.

Review project manager David McCorkindale says it's not unreasonable to expect that people will want to have their say about what will happen in their surroundings.

"When a cellphone tower gets put in, when the height of a new building is considered, or when a new subdivision is proposed, we use the District Plan as the basis for any decision," he says.

Mr McCorkindale says the current pressures facing the Horowhenua including those things such as climate change and an aging population are not addressed in the existing District Plan and it's time to revisit the rules and learn from the past.

People who want to participate in the review can fill out a survey form available from the Horowhenua District Council's service centres, Horowhenua Libraries or online at www.horowhenua.govt.nz. For more information on the Shaping Horowhenua project or the District Plan people are advised to speak with a member of the Planning Department.

This article appeared in the Horowhenua Mail 21/12/09.