Frequently asked questions

Currently, we are proposing to call the new subdivision “Ohoka Estate”. We welcome any feedback on the proposed name - please click here to share your thoughts.

We do not intend to release or start marketing sections in the proposed development until approximately mid-2023 at the earliest.

There will be a full range of section sizes available. The majority of proposed larger sections will be between 2,500m2 and 4,000 m2, with some between 0.5 to one hectare. Smaller sections are proposed to be a minimum of 500m2, up to approximately 1,100m2. The size and number of sections will be determined at a later date dependent on council directions and market demand.

If you are interested in a section (or sections), please click here to register your interest.

We understand that many Ohoka residents appreciate the rural village character of Ohoka and we are working to design a subdivision that reflects this unique environment. The Outline Development Plan (ODP) for the new subdivision is consistent with the Waimakariri District Plan, which seeks to provide pleasant living environments with high amenity.

Ohoka Estate will celebrate the existing Ohoka character by incorporating a village square into the Whites Road commercial area, providing roads without kerb and channels (similar to other rural developments) and using appropriately placed street trees on both sides of all subdivision roads. Also, street furniture, lighting, and other structures will be designed to reflect the rural and village feel of the town.

The plan change proposes two commercial areas (zoned as Business 4), a smaller one on Mill Road and a larger one along Whites Road. These commercial centres will provide great accessibility and help to meet some of the convenience needs of residents in the immediate area.

The purpose of the commercial centres is to provide a true heart for Ohoka with high-quality amenity that enhances the value of the development and surrounding areas.

The centres will provide amenity for the local development, but due to their small size, they will not undermine the function, viability and vibrancy of the key activity centres already in the district. Furthermore, locating the business zones near existing development ensures any possible effects, including the quantity of visable signage and noise levels, are minimised and concentrated to an area with existing levels of noise and signage.

We understand the importance and prominence of the Ohoka Farmers Market and the Ohoka Domain to the village of Ohoka. We believe the plan change will complement and enhance both.

A small village square is proposed for the commercial area on Whites Road to provide a more structured space for the community and serve as a forecourt for local shops.

Informal car parking will also be integrated into the village square with generous landscaping and tree planting. This allows it to be used for temporary parking on Fridays for the Ohoka Farmers Market, as it is located in close proximity to the domain. This will help mitigate the current parking issues, including damage to the berms by parked cars along Whites Road next to the domain.

A+ Urban has completed an urban design assessment for the proposed plan change. They have designed the indicative location of all of the reserves, roads and shared paths to ensure that the subdivision is walkable, connected and embraces the natural waterways within the site.

The development proposes various reserves to provide amenity for residents and has been designed to form part of the green network identified on the Outline Development Plan (ODP). The size and location of any reserve spaces will need to be balanced against the existing generous provision in the Ohoka Domain nearby.

The proposed plan change will introduce four key urban structural elements to Ohoka that will improve the village layout:

• It will balance the urban layout by developing the southern part of Mill Road, filling a gap in the current village layout

• It will consolidate and intensify the village by introducing residential environments with a more varied range of lot sizes

• It will create a commercial and community hub in the village centre, supporting and activating the domain further

• It will provide much improved connectivity and permeability

The ODP provides a mix of housing and lot sizes in a location that is well served by existing and future amenities. The design ensures that the proposed reserves are linked by walkable green spaces and embraces the natural waterways, recognising and protecting the natural features in the area. The large site size allows for the proposed development to be comprehensively master-planned and completed over many years.

Currently, the Outline Development Plan (ODP) provides for a new zone, Residential 8, which could potentially provide a school, retirement village or additional residential activity. We will engage with the Ministry of Education to talk about the possibility of a new school in the development. This will occur once the rezoning has been completed.

The Residential 8 (special purpose) zone provides for one of three options for the land:

• An educational facility (eg. school): The transport assessment allows for a school with up to 500 pupils

• A retirement village: The transport assessment allows up to 305 units

• If neither of the first two options are suitable, then additional residential lots are allowed, equal to the Residential 3 zone, for up to approximately 50 lots

This land is suitable for housing and development with the site being TC1-like. Extensive geotech investigations have been completed, including 22 test pits and 12 supplementary/nearby data points sourced from a past borehole data and ECAN well records.

Under land use capability classifications, the plan change land includes class 2 and 3 soils, with class 3 soils comprising 97.55% (152.11ha) of the site.

Under the Regional Policy Statement's (RPS) definition of highly productive soils (class 1 and 2) there is only 2.45% (3.82ha) of such soils. The rest of the soils are not considered highly productive. Furthermore, when unproductive areas (e.g. farm tracks, riparian areas, drinking water protection zone) are taken into account, the area of versatile soils is only 0.64ha.

Therefore, the quantum of versatile soil that will be lost is not considered to be significant in the context of the wider area - including the Waimakariri District and Canterbury-wide.

For wastewater (sewer), gravity or local low-pressure sewer systems are both feasible options for wastewater collection and discharge from the plan change area - which ultimately gets conveyed to discharge at the Rangiora Wastewater Treatment Plant that has the capacity to accept the additional flows.

For water supply, it is anticipated that new supply bores would be established within the plan change area to provide for community water supply. An assessment by Paddle Delamore Partners (PDP) concluded that it is viable to establish a community drinking water supply within the plan change area, with an estimated total of four new bores.

Wastewater and water supply assessments have been completed by Inovo Projects with contributions by PDP. For more details of these assessments, see the reports page of this website.

Formalised stormwater attenuation basins will be provided across the plan change area for management of stormwater to limit post-development runoff and pre-development flows for up to a one in 50-year rainfall event.

Stormwater treatment from the development will be provided using pre-treatment swales and high-infiltration rain gardens and/or bioscapes for filtration treatment through filter media before discharge to the existing natural streams and drainage channels. Flows in excess of the water quality flow will either be captured by sumps and discharged into conventional gravity stormwater network, or directed as overland flow towards flow path corridors towards the attenuation basins.

Novo Group has completed an integrated transport assessment for the plan change to assess how the traffic network will deal with the increased traffic volumes for the development.

The key intersections are predicted to operate well, and it is noted that the Tram Road/Bradleys Road/McHughes Road intersection is planned to be upgraded in the Waimakariri District Council Long Term Plan.

Widening has been identified as being required for:

• Tram Road (regardless of this plan change)

• Bradleys Road (regardless of this plan change)

• Whites Road - where some widening is required without the plan change, and further widening required as a result of the additional traffic associated with this plan change; and

• Mill Road - where some widening is required without the plan change, and further widening is required as a result of the additional traffic associated with this plan change