It’s official, Hurunui District Council’s coastal adaptation project with the Amberley Beach community has been
recognised as the best in New Zealand in the professional planning realm.
Last week at the New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) conference, the Amberley Beach Coastal Adaptation Plan (CAP) won
the NZPI Best Practice Award for Climate Change.
Just when the Planning team thought it couldn’t get any better, on the final day of the conference the project was
awarded NZPI’s supreme practice award, the Nancy Northcroft Planning Practice Award.
These awards recognised the work of Planners in developing and implementing innovative policies, plans and projects to
address climate change issues in New Zealand/Aotearoa.
The Council’s Planning team was central to the success of the CAP, engaging with the entire beach community was
important for them during every phase of the project which provided everyone an equal voice in the Plan’s development.
The Amberley Beach CAP outlines how the Amberley Beach community will take control of its future and adapt to the
changing hazard risk over the next 100 years.
Coastal erosion, coastal inundation, rising groundwater, fluvial flooding and pluvial flooding were all considered
impacts of climate change assessment.
“Often, we get caught in engineering our way out of problems. Using a planning lens to undertake such projects allows us
to step back and consider the full range of options available,” said Chief Strategy and Community Officer Judith
Batchelor.
Planners helped to facilitate the community discussions and provide technical planning advice, while Jacobs assisted by
providing science advice directly to the community.
This method of engagement required the team to develop and use engaging and innovative ways of communicating technical
information, so the Amberley Beach community could foster and understand the information, then form decisions foundered
on science.
“It was important to Council that the Plan was owned by the community, and it was the Planners’ role to balance the
competing needs of different community members, different generations and the environment,” said Chief Executive Officer
Hamish Dobbie.
Dobbie said it is easy to visualise, design, and price protection options, while proactive relocation is a much harder
concept to discuss and evaluate.
“The community did not shy away from these discussions. An innovative proposal for proactive retreat and land banking
was developed as part of the CAP, to enable the community to have control over their future.”