Policies in the Queenstown Lakes district's proposed district plan (PDP) would ‘‘effectively prohibit'' development in rural areas, commissioners were told yesterday.
Maree Baker-Galloway, legal counsel for three companies linked to property developer John Darby, said provisions in the PDP's strategic chapters placed too much emphasis on the district's ‘‘historical connection'' to farming.
An objective of the PDP's landscape chapter was to ensure subdivision and development did not ‘‘degrade landscape character and diminish visual amenity values of the rural landscapes''.
The first three policies relating to that objective were ‘‘absolute in nature and are restrictive with no enabling focus''.
Now, in the third week of hearings, council-appointed commissioners are hearing submissions on three of the PDP's strategic chapters.
Ms Baker-Galloway said rural land supported a broader range of activities than farming, such as conservation, recreation, tourism and rural living.
If the PDP's strategic chapters only provided for farming and did not consider the particular effects of a proposed activity, it could prevent appropriate development.
The plan also needed to provide more clarity about non-urban development outside urban growth boundaries, she said.
Her submissions were made on behalf of John Darby companies Darby Planning LP, Soho Ski Area Ltd and Treble Cone Investments.
They were similar in nature to submissions last week from companies behind existing or proposed residential property development projects in rural areas, such as Ayrburn Farm Estate, Millbrook Country Club and Bridesdale Farm.
Hearings on the first stage of the plan are expected to continue until November.
