It’s a mixed bag. Most welcome is that here will be a cap on the input of nitrogen fertiliser to farms although the limit set is weak. Farmers will have to fence off waterways and adopt targeted farm environment plans. There will be a streamlined planning process and specialist freshwater panels that include Regional Council and tangata whenua appointees.Read More »
Category: sustainable development
$9 Million to Drain a Sinking Farmed Wetland Below Sea Level ?
A Waikato Regional Council (WRC) project near Ngatea on the Hauraki Plains to use pumps and a canal to drain 1100 hectares of farmland on sinking peatland/wetland has seen the cost rise steeply from $2 million in 2013 to $9 million today. The cost benefit analysis carried out was deficient, and the latest research on potential climate change impacts has not been adequately considered. A rigorous review of the project is required.
Thames-Coromandel Mayor/Council Plan Managed Retreat from Thames’ Coastal Margins
In a welcome development, Thames-Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie has stated that the need for Thames “to find another area for housing development for potential adaptation purposes where we incrementally can move from the coast” is “absolutely essential”. Read More »
Thames Community Board supports permanent Thames bus service
Congratulations to the Thames Community Board which at its meeting yesterday, gave its support to making the Thames Connector public bus service permanent, and recommended that funding for it be included in the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan.Read More »
Transport emissions dominate Thames Coromandel’s carbon footprint
For the first time, the Waikato Regional Council’s three-yearly survey of greenhouse gas emissions has a breakdown for Thames-Coromandel District and other Waikato districts.Read More »
Denis Tegg - Representing Thames Coromandel on Waikato Regional Council 