Dubbed a ‘‘uniquely Hurunui solution’’, the council aims to front-foot the future risk of rising sea levels.

The Hurunui District Council approved funding of up to $250,000 to allow staff to proceed with a plan change to create a new site at Ashworths Road, south of Amberley, at a meeting on Tuesday [August 26].

The council purchased the $3.8m Ashworths Road property earlier this year and plans to rezone 20ha so it can sub-divide into housing for up to 109 properties, which face a growing risk of sea level rise.

At the time it was hailed as ‘‘a uniquely Hurunui solution’’ by council chief executive Hamish Dobbie.

Erosion is an ongoing issue in the area, with the local golf course facing ongoing challenges as the ocean eats away at its access road.

Council chief operations officer Daniel Harris said the funding will allow staff to engage expertise including traffic management, an economic assessment, landscaping, geotechnical and legal advice.

The land is presently zoned rural and any plan change will be subject to the National Policy Statement for highly productive land, he said.

The plan change process will be loan funded, with the council recovering the costs through a range of sources, including grazing and future land sales.

Amberley Beach residents who opt into the scheme will pay a targeted rate to secure a section.

Councillors Dave Hislop and Tom Davies questioned why the council was not assessing the whole property for the plan change to allow for the future sub-division of all of the land.

But Deputy Mayor Vince Daly said sub-dividing the entire property would go against the council’s policy of protecting productive land.

‘‘We bought this to provide land for resettlement, not to create a new village. Are we wanting to be property developers and go against our own District Plan?’’

Councillors voted 7-1 in favour of allowing staff to proceed with the plan change, with Cr Hislop voting against it.

A resource consent to install and operate a solar farm near Waipara, north of Amberley, and a private plan change for a new Amberley sub-division were also discussed at the meeting.

Hearing commissioners Dean Chrystal and Shannon Bray were appointed to hear and decide the resource consent application from Far North Solar Farm Ltd to build a 180ha solar farm near Waipara.

The council’s planning team leader Nicola Kirby said 158 submissions have been received, with 125 against the proposed solar farm.

At its peak, the farm's 250,000 panels would generate up to 144 megawatts, enough to power an estimated 30,000 homes.

A group of concerned residents formed Save Waipara Valley last year.

Independent commissioner Andrew Willis was appointed to hear the private plan change application and make recommendation to the council.

Everlasting Developments Ltd has applied to build a new sub-division on a 4ha section on Amberley Beach Road, with up to 49 sections with an average size of 600 square metres.

Ms Kirby said 10 submissions have been received, with a mix of views expressed.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.