Development may be designed to preserve natural character by incorporating the following elements:
(1) Retain natural landforms
Through the development process preserve the natural landforms, ecological processes and drainage patterns that occur within the site:
Locate buildings well back from important landforms and key providers of ecological processes, such as streams and wetlands
Maintain a natural vegetation buffer
Minimise earthworks
Undesirable example: Cable Bay, Far North District
By butting into the natural land contours and failing to reinstate indigenous vegetation cover, this development has negatively impacted on the natural character of this site.
Cable Bay Development (Credit: Raewyn Peart)
Desirable example: Tryphena, Great Barrier Island
These house have been incorporated into the natural landform and have retained the surrounding indigenous vegetation, thereby reducing their impact on natural character.
Tryphena, Great Barrier Island (Credit: Raewyn Peart)
(2) Avoid visually-intrusive structures
Minimise the amount of visually-invasive structures, buildings and infrastructure:
Keep buildings off headlands and ridgelines
Provide a generous set back from the coastal edge and riparian margins
Adopt a building design and form that is in keeping with the coastal environment
Undesirable example: Little Kaiteriteri Beach, Tasman District
These large visually-intrusive houses, several constructed on the ridgeline, have had a significant impact on the natural character of this beach.
Desirable example: Medlands Beach, Great Barrier Island
These houses have been build with a generous set back from the coastal margin and have been kept off the prominent headland, which has retained much of the natural character of the beach.
Medlands Beach, Great Barrier Island (Credit: Raewyn Peart)
(3) Enhance native vegetation
Protect, restore and enhance native vegetation and habitats:
Minimise vegetation clearance for new development
Exclude stock from existing areas of indigenous vegetation
Replant areas using locally-sourced genetic stock where appropriate
Develop an ongoing management plan which includes weed and pest control
Include opportunities for wetland management and creation
Undesirable example: Algies Bay, Mahurangi Peninsula, Auckland
A lack of native vegetation along the coastal edge significantly reduces natural character and fails to buffer the surrounding environment from the buildings.
Mahurangi harbour (Credit: Raewyn Peart)
Desirable example: Papamoa East, Tauranga
By restoring native vegetation on the dunes infront of these houses the natural character of the coast is being enhanced.
Papamoa Dune Restoration (Credit: Raewyn Peart)
(4) Maintain natural processes
Prevent changes to the natural patterns and movements of rivers, waves, tides, wind and rain as well as land, freshwater and marine plants and animals:
Design and locate infrastructure (such as causeways, roads, boat ramps and seawalls) to minimise disruption to natural processes
Rehabilitate natural systems such as streams, wetlands, intertidal areas and dunes
Prevent contaminated runoff and sediment flowing into freshwater or marine areas
Protect the movement and supply of sediment to beaches
Avoid hard stabilisation structures along the coast
Undesirable example: Waihi Beach, Hauraki District
This seawall disrupts the natural processes of the coastline, impacting on the natural movement of sediment and tides.
Waihi Beach Seawall (Credit: Raewyn Peart)
Desirable example: Pauanui Beach, Thames-Coromandel District
These houses and associated infrastructure have been set well back from the beach reducing the interruption to natural processes.
