Upper Plain rental house plan stymied | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

A MASTERTON man's plans to build three rental houses on land on Upper Plain Road have been denied, partly because they would be situated on prime productive land.

Masterton district planner Sue Southey has turned down the application by Robert Thorneycroft to build the houses on a 4.48ha block in what is known as the Special Rural Management Area.

The houses would have joined an existing one on the land.

Mrs Southey said although the application was not for a subdivision the effect of allowing the extra homes to be built there on less than the minimum lot requirement "is by default to allow a substandard subdivision".

Mr Thorneycroft's application was dealt with under the Resource Management Act in conjunction with the council's own district plan, which in the "special management area" allows for only one house to each 4ha block.

In a report to be presented to the council's resource management committee tomorrow, Mrs Southey said allowing three more houses on Mr Thorneycroft's block as a discretionary activity would change the land use and "inevitably lead to further subdivision".

It was important for the land to be managed to ensure its future potential and the Thorneycroft block was suitable for a range of uses, from traditional farming to wine-making.

Mrs Southey said the best soil in the district is mostly to be found on the perimeter of the urban area where there is competition for non-agricultural uses such as the establishment of rural/residential lifestyle blocks.

"Generally the soils in this area are good for grazing and cropping with pockets of more stony land which could support grapes or olives."

According to the Wellington regional policy statement, high quality soil areas are limited and decreasing, particularly in and around high population areas.

Urban expansion in the Hutt Valley has swallowed up most of the high quality soil and, similarly, future expansion could threaten the last good quality soil in places like Otaki and Wairarapa.

Allowing houses to be built on high quality soil takes away options for other uses like orcharding and market gardening and results in what is effectively a "permanent loss".

Mrs Southey said granting Mr Thorneycroft's application is likely to weaken people's confidence in the district plan, is contrary to the public interest and to the intent of the Resource Management Act.

She said public confidence in the district plan ? put in place after considerable public consultation ? must take precedence over the "private well-being of the applicant".

The Thorneycroft decision comes just weeks before the expected publication of a draft plan from the joint district councils throughout Wairarapa.

This draft could contain proposals to reduce minimum lot sizes throughout the combined district, in some cases from 4ha to 1ha.

The draft is a result of a joint planning committee which has been meeting for about three years and which will have to go to public consultation

before a hearing is scheduled and submissions considered.