Very similar themes have come out of a series of community meetings throughout Central Otago on the Otago Regional Council’s (ORC) Land and Water Regional Plan.

ORC councillor Gary Kelliher said he had attended most of the meetings in the district and believed there was a huge amount of concern with the stance that the regional council was taking.

Areas of interest to the public have so far included proposed changes around setbacks from waterbodies for various farming activities, and more specifically for dairy operations, the suggested limits on the number of cows per hectare, and the suggested restrictions on the amount of nitrogen fertiliser used per hectare.

Cr Kelliher voted against the plan and said councillor's options were to either become “very environmental or more with where we fit with where we are at now.”

He said there were some very upset farmers at the meetings and forestry companies had also told the ORC the new changes were going to the extreme, and would cripple their industry.

“It’s a big deviation from the current rules,” he said.

ORC chair Gretchen Robertson said she was really pleased with the turn out to the in-person meetings all around Otago to date, and also the large number of people who attended the on-line forums.

“The engagement has been really great and staff have been busy collating peoples’ feedback around the issues which really matter to them.”

She said the eventual Land and Water Regional Plan will be a cornerstone document for future environmental protection across all Otago.

Once all the feedback has been collated, ORC will use these to inform development of the final plan. 

The draft plan will be shared with councillors in December and is scheduled to be publicly notified in June 2024, which will include public submissions.

Those affected still have until Friday November 6 to provide feedback on the draft plan.