Parks and forests management plan review
Developing a "one stop" management plan for regional parks and forests
The Regional Parks Network Management Plan, which sets out the general policies found in individual park management plans, has been in place for over five years and is due for review. In addition, we recently developed a Parks Network Strategy, which provides the vision and goals for our parks and forests. To align the policies in the management plans with the strategy, we intend to combine our individual parks and forests plans into one document to form a “one stop plan”. This will be a 10-year document.
We will be reviewing most of the parks plans so that they include the following:
- Parks Network Strategy, Regional Parks Network Management Plan for regional parks, the individual parks and forests management plans, and the Forest Lands Management Plan.
Currently, we have management plans for the following areas: East Harbour Regional Park, Battle Hill Farm Forest Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, Belmont Regional Park, Kaitoke Regional Park, and a single plan covering Pakuratahi Forest and Akatarawa Forest. The Wainuiomata Recreation Area will have some policies included in the document. The Hutt River Trail will not form part of the review as it covered by the Hutt River Floodplain Management Plan.
The aim of the review process is to incorporate all of these plans into the one document with the overarching policy for all the parks in the front section, followed by each of the park plans containing their own policies, concept plans, individual features and values.
The draft plan will:
- Bring all the different management plans’ visions, objectives and policies together as and easy reference for the public and for practitioners. It will also reduce repetition.
- Ensure we take a consistent approach across the parks and forests network.
- Provide a more efficient approach to planning – we’ll aim to revise the plan every 10 years instead of revising one park at a time.
We will begin work on the new plan as soon as possible and publish a draft for public comment in May 2010.
You can view all of the frequently asked questions.
Have your say
Thank you to those who provided initial comments on the Parks and Forests Management Plan Review. This opportunity to comment closed on 18 December 2009. These comments will now be collated and considered as the plans are reviewed and a single management plan covering all of the Parks and Forests is developed. You will have a further opportunity to comment on the draft plan when it is released in May 2010.
For any further queries about the process then please contact:
Sharon 04 381 7753, sharon.thurlow@gw.govt.nz
You can also write to us at:
Parks and Forests Management Plan Review, Greater Wellington, 142 Wakefield Street, PO Box 11646, Wellington 6142
Key documents as part of this review
Current parks management plans - The documents provided for your comment are the recently developed Regional Parks Network Strategy and the current management plans. You can find the current parks and forests management plans at the bottom of this page.
The Parks Network Strategy – This is a 20-year document that provides overarching guidance to the next generation of for our regional parks and forests’ policy and planning documents. It will sit at the beginning of the new plan.
Resource material – This document was put together as background information for the development of the Regional Parks Network Strategy. It contains research articles, reports and key information on Greater Wellington’s role in providing regional parks. As the document is large, it has been divided into various sections. You can download this document by clicking on the various icons on the right hand side of this page.
Next steps in the process
We are currently in the initial stages of the review. These are the next steps:
- After we have collated public feedback of the review we will develop a draft plan.
- We will publicly notify the release of the draft plan through local newspapers and our website.
We will be continuously be updating this webpage so please visit again.
Current management plans
Management plans are agreements between Greater Wellington and the community about how a regional park or forest will be managed, and they provide an important opportunity for public input.
The Regional Parks Network Strategyprovides an overarching management framework for addressing issues common to the five regional parks in a consistent and comprehensive way. The plan covers conserving environment and cultural heritage values in parks, sustaining community and recreational opportunities and use, and promoting partnerships with the community and tangata whenua.
The Forest Lands Management Planprovides the management framework for the Akatarawa and Pakuratahi Forests.
Here are the latest developments on reviews of the individual park management plans: