May 2023
The flooding in Auckland over the last few months has brought into focus the reduced level of ecosystem services that are in place in rural Auckland. We discuss the opportunities for natural wetlands to act as significant flood storage reservoirs, holding water back during large flood events and then releasing water after flood peaks have passed.
March 2023
When undertaking urban subdivisions sometimes streams need to be modified to facilitate housing. Our team is available to explore rural stream restoration and protection to mitigate stream loss from urban development.
March 2023
National Environmental Standards and Policy Statements are part of the ever-changing face of rural land development and subdivision, and another in the list of items that need to be considered when subdividing land.
February 2023
The recent extreme weather events across the country have caused slips affecting some properties. Cato Bolam is available to provide services to assist with slip remediation and a detailed assessment of slip damage for both insurance and remedial design purposes.
January 2023
Our expert Land Contamination Team takes you through a recently completed project on a 2.7 hectare property located west of Whangarei.
September 2022
In this article we focus on a specific case study where we restored a wetland that initially had very low vegetation quality dues to decades of ongoing stock grazing, and then proceeded to apply for and gain subdivision resource consent based on these areas, and then a new title.
April 2022
This article discusses another common way of subdividing in the rural zones. If there is no available bush or wetland on your property, and you are looking to subdivide, the planting of native bush may be a way to do this.
February 2022
At Cato Bolam, we are experts in answering your questions on how to preserve wetlands and in this article we discuss what is involved in restoring a degraded wetland to one that meets the Significant Ecological Area (SEA) criteria of the Auckland Unitary Plan.
November 2021
The entire Countryside Living zone is intended for rural residential living on the outskirts of Auckland, but it is the precinct overlays that determine what can be done in the way of subdivision. Here we take a close up look at the specifics of zones, the precinct overlays and what it all means in the south and north areas of the Auckland region.
June 2021
With the Unitary Plan now finalised, an existing good quality wetland, either identified as Significant Ecological Area (SEA) on the planning maps, or meeting the SEA quality standards, can generate an ability to subdivide. The final rules, also allow for the restoration of degraded wetlands with the aim of the wetland being designated to be SEA.
