29 May 2014 Chapter 11 - Rural Environments Despite the active utilisation of rural resources, people living in the rural environment should not be subjected to loss of character and amenity value, and unreasonable noise, odours or risks from hazardous substances. Dairy farming has the potential to have significant adverse effects on the quality of surface, ground, and coastal water resources, and wetlands. These effects can be avoided, remedied or mitigated by using environmentally sound farming practices that include strategies to manage the effects of dairy farming on water quality. Some industrial and commercial activities choose to locate in the rural environment because of the need to be in close proximity to resources. Other activities locate in rural areas because they serve activities based in the coastal marine area and need to be in close proximity to the water. These activities can affect rural amenities and water and air quality. Intensive farming may also adversely affect the rural environment. However, these effects can be avoided or mitigated by: • The siting and design of buildings and enclosures; and • Management practices and waste disposal methods. Urban styles of development can adversely affect the rural environment through the visual effect of large scale buildings and ancillary structures, increased traffic generation, and loss of amenity including privacy, rural outlook, spaciousness, and quietness. The Rural One zone has been identified as a high risk area for particular potentially adverse effects of forestry operations. The characteristics of the Rural One zone that can contribute to its higher risk are: • A large number of waahi tapu sites; • A particularly long coastal/ land boundary; • Slopes that generally drop steeply and directly into the sea; • Large areas of public land set aside for conservation purposes; • Areas of pastoral land that are reverting to scrub and bush; • Areas of commercial and woodlot forestry; • A unique “drowned valley” topography; • A public road network that is not designed for high intensity, heavy vehicle traffic; • The Marlborough Sounds is characterised by a large Rural One Zone, as well as a widespread scattering of residential properties, most of which are within the Sounds Residential Zone. The potentially adverse effects of forestry operations that require particular assessment through the resource consent process and that are not adequately addressed by rules, permitted activity criteria and guidelines mentioned above are: • Planting of areas that may not be acceptable to Maori and which Maori may not wish to publicly identify; • The effects of land use change on legal water supplies; 11 - 3