Bay of Plenty Regional Council has agreed to public notification of a private plan change proposed by Whakatāne District Council to manage unacceptable risks to life and property in the Awatarariki Debris Flow risk zone at Matatā.

Plan changes are proposed to both the District Plan administered by Whakatāne District Council and the Regional Natural Resources Plan administered by Bay of Plenty Regional Council. A notification date for the plan changes will be confirmed later this month.

Whakatāne District Council Policy Committee Chair, Deputy Mayor Judy Turner, said her Council’s original recommendation for limited notification of the plan change was based on the reasonable expectation that those directly affected by the plan changes were readily identifiable through existing property databases held by Council and Government agencies.

“However, the ability of Council to serve notice of the plan change to all those directly affected by the Proposed Plan Changes became an issue when the notification database was being prepared,” she said.

“Staff identified a number of affected properties in the wider Matatā township that are owned by multiple Māori owners, and although we’ve used all of the available data sources, we have not been able to find contact details for all of the owners listed on the titles for these properties.

“Public notification is now our best option to avoid unnecessary delay and give Matatā residents certainty about the future of their properties as quickly as possible.”

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Regional Direction and Delivery Committee Chair, Paula Thompson, said that as the authority considering the Regional Natural Resources Plan change, the Regional Council relies on the information provided by Whakatāne District Council.

“We are obliged to process the plan change request in accordance with the Resource Management Act. We’ve sought to minimise the stress of uncertainty for affected residents by moving through the required processes as quickly as possible.

"Accepting full public notification will allow an aligned and streamlined process across the proposed District and Regional Plan changes,” Councillor Thompson said.