Volume One 14. Use of the Rural Environment along high traffic density routes, have resulted in threats to the integrity of the road network on the Wairau Plain. The policies of Chapter 17 - Transportation provide guidance about how to minimise the conflict between subdivision, use and development activities with the land transport network. In terms of 14.4.15(e), it is important to enable activities that do not rely on the primary productive potential of the rural resource but that are appropriate in rural environments. However, it is considered that other activities not covered by the policies referred to in (e) should be avoided in the Wairau Plain Area. Such activities, which can include residential, commercial or industrial activities, have an option of locating within the urban centres of Renwick and Blenheim, which are centrally located. Some limited provision has been made for rural living on larger lots on the periphery of Blenheim (Urban Residential 3 Zone). Commercial and industrial activities are more appropriately located in the relevant urban zones, where these activities are not related to primary production activities. Issue 14C – Responding to pressure to use, develop and subdivide land within rural environments for residential uses. It is important to note that policy guidance for residential activity in the rural areas of the coastal environment of the Marlborough Sounds is not covered in this chapter. This is provided in Issue 13D of Chapter 13 - Use of the Coastal Environment. A range of residential uses can be found within Marlborough’s rural environments. Many of these are directly associated with the primary production activities that occur within these environments. There is also demand to allow other residential uses in these areas, including in the Marlborough Sounds, on the Wairau Plain and in other parts of the District. People enjoy the privacy, rural outlook, spaciousness, ease of access, clean air and (mostly) quietness of rural environments. Some people wish to farm small blocks on a part time basis, but with the numbers of people living and desiring to live in rural areas, there is increased potential for amenity conflicts to arise, given the primary production activities that occur within rural environments. While tensions between lifestyle and primary production are not an issue in all locations, there is enough tension to suggest that there needs to be guidance about how residential activities are provided for within rural environments. A range of other effects can arise through allowing unconstrained residential uses to occur within rural environments. These include: • fragmentation of land holdings, where the creation of small lots effectively removes the land from primary productive use options; • effects on amenity and reverse sensitivity, which is considered through Issue 14A and 14B; • on-site management of domestic wastewater, where systems that are not well managed or maintained pose potential risks to groundwater. In low lying areas or during periods of flooding, some systems may also fail; • effects on water quantity, with a potential for water bodies or groundwater sources to be depleted if many small blocks are created and rights to take water for domestic purposes are exercised; • traffic issues, where local roads cannot safely handle increases in traffic. This is made worse when traffic from lifestyle blocks meets heavy vehicles, such as those from extractive industries; • effects on natural character, landscape and biodiversity values, depending on where residential uses take place; and • the potential for greater spread of pest organisms. 14 – 15