Land which is both highly productive and suitable for a wide range of uses is a scarce resource. The Land Use Capability Classifications System defines "versatile land" as Class I or II, marking it as highly suited for multiple use such as for growing a wide range of crops, pasture and forest, and for supporting grazing animals.

In Canterbury, this type of land makes up just over six percent of the region, but this represents 36% of the nation's total area of versatile land. Even small losses are significant, particularly over the long term.

The Cause

We lose versatile land when it is built over for urban development or taken for supporting infrastructure, such as airports and industrial estates.

Most of the 11,000 hectares on which Christchurch is built consists of Class I and II land. Subdivision into small blocks of less than 8 hectares limits the number of productive land choices. It also tends to encourage development and, once begun, the land involved is rarely, if ever, returned to primary production.

On occasion, the special nature of this type of land has been destroyed by activities such as topsoil stripping.

The Options

We could also define Class III land as versatile land. This type of land has some limitations for arable use, restricting the kind of crops which can be grown and sometimes requiring special conservation practices. Forty percent of Canterbury's plains and downs are Class III land.

Actions which Environment Canterbury can take to protect this resource are to:

Use submissions and liaison to promote district rules and consent decisions that prevent the irreversible use of versatile land, such as requiring a minimum subdivision size of 8-10Ha.

This could result in a consistent policy throughout the region, reducing duplication of consent requirements, but it will limit land use choices and require the cooperation of district councils.
Work with district councils to develop a regional settlement strategy for the integrated assessment of all environmental factors related to future land development.

This will also provide regional consistency but will have associated costs for regional ratepayers.
Encourage the protection of versatile land by
(i) purchasing land and leasing it appropriately
(ii) providing rates relief for non-settlement,
(iii) taxing the conversion of versatile land to irreversible use.

These economic instruments will ensure that the land's productive capacity is maintained, but they are likely to be costly.