Key points
This indicator monitors the amount and type of low density (less than one house per four hectares) that has been subdivided into smaller blocks, possibly for intensive agriculture or horticulture uses, or urban use. Monitoring rural subdivision provides information used by territorial authorities, land developers and communities about increasing land pressures.
- Between 1991 and 1996, 1,864 hectares of land changed from a low-density rural land use to a more intensive use. Between 1996 and 2001, this figure rose to 2,181 hectares and increased further to 2,936 hectares between 2001 and 2006.
- More than two-thirds of the land affected by subdivision has a ‘high productive capability for pastoral use’ (LUC classes I-IV). The greatest amount of subdivision is occurring on the land with the higher productive capabilities (LUC classes II, III and IV).
- Within the Waikato Region class I productive land makes up only 1.9 % of the total land area. Between 1996 and 2006, 423 hectares of class I land was subdivided (0.91% of the total class I land). Over the same period, a total of 1,047 hectares of lower productivity land (classes V-VIII) were subdivided (0.07% of the total class V-VIII land). These classes make up over 61% of the Region’s total land area.
- In decreasing order, rural subdivision is occurring most rapidly in Waikato District, Hamilton City, Thames-Coromandel District, Franklin District, Taupo District, Hauraki District and Waipa District. Lower rates of rural subdivision are also occurring within South Waikato District and Matamata-Piako District.
Figure 1.4.1a: Total hectares of rural land subdivided in the Waikato region
Source: Statistics New Zealand/Environment Waikato
What agencies are doing
Information currently being collated.
What you can do to help
Information currently being collated.
More information
More detail on this indicator, including how and where this information is collected, is available here.
What we want to achieve
The community outcome we are seeking to achieve by monitoring rural subdivision is:
- We use land management practices that protect and sustain our soil and land.