Ashburton is pushing back against Environment Canterbury's attempt to update a divisive policy “in the face of a flood of reform”.

ECan is reviewing the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement (CRPS), with an early draft given to specific stakeholders for feedback ahead of a planned formal notification in December.

Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown described his council's response as “very direct”.

“There is no second guessing what we are thinking.”

The submission stated that ECan “must abandon" its plan to notify the draft policy statement in December.

“The extent of pending change in national direction and governing legislation creates too much uncertainty and risk in proceeding at this time,” the submission states.

A raft of Government reforms are in the works, including changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA).

The Canterbury Regional Policy Statement is a document that gives effect to the RMA and national direction, providing an overview of the resource management issues and guidance on looking after natural and physical resources.

The current policy became operative in 2013 and the RMA requires it to be reviewed every 10 years.

Ashburton District Council suggested the regional council is attempting to proceed “in the face of a flood of reform” which puts it and the district councils at risk of wasting time and money on work that will need to be repeated.

The council also suggested that the draft fell short of its expectations of a fit-for-purpose document.

“[ECan] have completely missed the mark in getting the balance right between maintaining and enhancing the quality of the natural environment and providing for the economic well-being of the community”.

When the submission was approved last week, councillor Richard Wilson said he felt the draft policy is “another thing that ECan is doing that flies in the face of reality and what the districts want”.

Councillor Russell Ellis said the council’s response left “no doubt to the way we are thinking and the way we are being treated”.

“There is a lot of discontent out there with the way they are behaving at the moment and maybe some of this might be a reality check.”

The feedback drew on the work of the Mid Canterbury Vision Group, a community-led series of workshops that provided a collective submission to ECan’s early engagement process last year.

Ashburton isn’t alone in questioning the timing with North Canterbury councils also calling on ECan to delay the process.

The Hurunui District Council is calling on a delay until February to avoid the public consultation falling over the Christmas holidays, which had support from Waimakariri District Mayor Dan Gordon.

‘‘If they want to release it just before Christmas they need to make sure there is plenty of time for feedback and I would suggest taking it through to March,” Gordon said.

Environment Canterbury regional planning manager Andrew Parrish said that in drafting the proposed policy they had been “deliberately generic and flexible" around areas that are set to change, but the issues facing the region aren't changing.

“Our aim is a durable future policy direction for Canterbury/Waitaha, with a strong focus on improving water quality.

“We have received and acknowledged some feedback regarding the timing of our policy review programme, but we are pushing ahead according to our original schedule for now because a number of other planning work programmes flow from this one.”

ECan councillors will consider the feedback from the district councils and make a decision on the timing for notification, Parish said.

The new policy will eventually form part of an integrated plan for Canterbury, merging with the Coastal Environment Plan, the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan, and Government policy statements by 2028.

By Jonathan Leask