A draft landslide management strategy presented at Wednesday’s Whakatāne District Council meeting is to be revisited in the New Year.  

The draft Strategy is the culmination of work undertaken to understand the risks presented by landslides from the escarpments in Whakatāne, Ōhope and Matatā and follows extensive consultation with affected landowners. It summarises the feedback from over 160 face-to-face meetings and 70 neighbourhood group meetings, where the main concerns expressed were:

• The need to manage stormwater and flows from springs and streams and vegetation management on the escarpments
• The impact on development opportunities and land values for the owners of properties in landslide hazard areas
• That site specific characteristics such as existing mitigation works and existing geotechnical investigations already undertaken by some property owners are not recognised in the reports

The draft Strategy suggests a preferred “risk reduction” option that would encompass both structural and non-structural measures.  These would include:

• Regular monitoring of the escarpment and more active management of vegetation and water flows
• The provision of information through Land Information Memoranda and the Council website about the landslide risk and simple ways for landowners to proactively manage the risk themselves
• Investigation of early warning systems
• A possible change to the Proposed Whakatāne District Plan
• Advocacy to the Regional Council during the development of the natural hazards chapter in its Proposed Regional Policy Statement

A majority of Councillors felt this complex and important issue for the District was advancing too quickly and opted to give themselves more time to consider the content of the strategy and, in particular, a draft variation to the Proposed District Plan. That variation proposed the introduction of new objectives and policies, limiting the extent of new housing in high and medium risk areas, and making it easier for landowners to reduce the risk of landslides through less restrictive planning rules and design guidelines. 

Concurrent with the work on landslide risks, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council is also working on developing risk thresholds which could inform the District Council’s approach and decisions. In the meantime, the Council will continue its current approach, addressing landslide risks when resource and building consents are sought for properties near to the escarpments. Hazard information and weather warnings will also be provided on the Council website and social media, with tree management advice provided as required.