B-2 – Area 2 - Assessment of Environmental Effects 5 2.2 CULTURAL LANDSCAPE The cultural landscape in which this site sits is described in Chapter 5 of the Overarching AEE document. 2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING Broadly, the northern portion of the site is defined by the interface with the Coromandel Ranges. The eastern portion of the site is defined by the Mataura Stream, which flows in a south-easterly direction along the site boundary. The southern and western portions of the site are defined by property boundaries of adjoining farms. The topography of the site reflects that of the wider context in which it is located. The southern portions are relatively low-lying in nature, and in places are at approximately Reduced Level (“RL”) 160 m. The landform then rises in elevation, in some places steeply, towards the Coromandel Ranges and reaches heights up to RL 360 m to the north-west. The current land use is pastoral farmland. It features large fields bisected by post and wire fences across the property, various farm tracks, enclosed fields, tree stands, shelterbelts and various farm buildings / structures, the latter of which include barns and a milking shed in the lower portions of the site. The pasture covered foothills within the site contain various folds and localised gullies and include a number of overland flow paths and unnamed tributaries which flow in a northerly direction across the site and into the Mataura Stream on its northern boundary. A small natural inland wetland (the ‘Mataura wetland’) is present onsite, adjacent to the property boundary with the Mataura Stream. The ecology of these waterbodies is described in Section 2.14 below. The Mataura Stream is a tributary of the Ohinemuri River, with the confluence of the two waterbodies meeting approximately 600 m south-east of the site. The Waikato Regional Plan (“WRP”) allocates ‘Water Management Classes’ to certain waterbodies throughout the region. The Mataura Stream is included in the “Significant Trout Fisheries and Trout Habitat Water Class”. This class denotes the value of the stream as a habitat that supports a significant fishery. The Ohinemuri River, downstream, is also included in this Water Management Class. There are no Significant Natural Areas or Outstanding Natural Landscapes within Area 2.
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