Official Information Request - rural sector information

Sent: Wednesday, 24 August 2022 1:42 pm
Subject: Information request - rural information

I refer to your email of 21 August 2022 regarding various information on the rural sector. Your questions were processed under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

Please find below the information requested:

• Can you please provide a copy of the Rotorua District Plan that contains the RDC-945173 Taiwhenua - Rural Part 9, or any mention of Rural in the District Plan please?
  The Rotorua District Plan (including Rural Part 9) is available on the Council at this link: District Plan - Rotorua Lakes Council.
• Is it correct that within the Rotorua District the land cover is 48% pasture and 20% planted forest (source: 2014 District facts)
  The total size of the Rotorua district is 261,906 hectares. This consists of 41% forest, 43% agriculture and 8% lakes (source: Annual Plan 2016/17)
  These figures have not been updated recently.
• Does 80% of the district's land have rural zoning? (Source: Rotorua District Plan 2016)
  Total rural land zoned Rural 1, 2, 3 and Lakes A equates to 81.1% of the total district land area.
• Are there 137 Protected Natural Areas covering more than 30,620ha?
  There are 195 Significant Natural Areas (SNA) in the District Plan, covering 32,376.28 ha. Of this:
  • 14,655.49 ha is covered by lakes (water bodies)
  • 17,720.79 ha is not covered by lakes (water bodies)
• Can you please tell me the total rates revenue gathered from the rural ward (i.e. Rural residential, rural lifestyle, and rural farming)
  For the 2021/22 rating year total rates revenue from rural properties was $23,156,468 (excluding GST). There are 6,298 properties classified as rural.
• What was the GDP of the district in 2021 (it was $2.88 billion in 2014 - what is it now?) Is there a breakdown of each sector's contribution to this GDP also?
  Attached is the latest Quarterly Infometrics report for June 2022. The provisional GDP for the year to June 2022 (2021 prices) is on page 3.
  The proportion of GDP by industry is available from Infometrics at the following link: https://regions.infometrics.co.nz/rotorua-district/economy/growth
• We have 886km of sealed roads in the district - how many kms of unsealed roads do we have?
  The Rotorua district has 123km of unsealed local roads.