Pekapeka tou-roa (long-tailed bats) are about half the size of an adult's palm.
Pekapeka tou-roa (long-tailed bats) are about half the size of an adult's palm.
The developers of a new business zone near Hamilton Airport have had to purchase two lifestyle blocks to cater for a population of native bats.
About 89 hectares of land northwest of the Hamilton Airport became the Airport Business Zone on July 1, but the developers have been required to provide sanctuaries to compensate for the loss of Pekapeka long-tailed bat habitat.
The joint proposal from Waikato Regional Airport Ltd and Rukuhia Properties Ltd (RPL), successfully sought a private plan change with Waipā District Council to rezone rural land for development at the airport.
It included an ecology assessment, which showed bats living in the area. The applicants originally proposed to develop an 11-hectare bat protection habitat close to the proposed business zone.
Forest and Bird appealed to the Environment Court because it still had concerns about the bats. As a result, an additional 4.1ha bat protection site was agreed on.
Waikato Regional Airport chief executive Mark Morgan, told Waikato Herald 15 hectares was a good size for a bat habitat.
The 11ha site for a bat sanctuary.
“What we’re providing is almost a purpose-designed habitat for the bats, and not just primarily for them but also a safe haven for any species of bird, animal, and insect life that will also use the space,” Morgan said.
“We acquired two lifestyle blocks between our land and the river; one’s an 11-hectare block and the other is four hectares. We’ve agreed to plant those over the next decade, and pest control them for the long-tailed bats.”
“We’re finding a solution for this matter, a solution away from the development area but provides more land and a better quality habitat than would be possible if we just provided those corridors of protection within those 100 hectares of commercial development.”
A Waipā District Council spokeswoman said the bat management plan “Will go into further detail, and is triggered when the first subdivision application happens”.
“The plan will include habitat enhancement outcomes, planting, and maintenance specifications.”
What a Pekapeka long-tailed bat looks like. Photo / David Mudge
The bat management plan also included minimising the risk of harm to bats during any removal of confirmed or potential bat roost trees within the northern precinct, and a bat management plan prepared by an experienced bat ecologist.
Morgan said the bat sanctuaries would be put into charitable trusts.
“The land will be protected forever in that sense and the trusts will oversee the management of the 15 hectares.
“It will be planted and developed with advice from our ecologists, ensuring it’s supportive of providing a good habitat for the bats because we know they are active in that area and along the river, and one of our lifestyle blocks has riverfront lands.
“We are providing potentially the nucleus of a corridor of protection for the bats.”
Morgan said the idea to rezone rural land in the Airport Business Zone had been years in the making.
“The embryo was the airport company and we developed a 10-year strategy in 2018 intending to diversify the income for the group.
“We were reliant in those days on the aeronautical income, we felt that it would be good to balance that income with other income-generating assets.”
He said the land was a dairy farm when they purchased it in 2016, and they always intended to convert the land from rural, to industrial and commercial.
“Over the last six to seven years, we’ve developed and sold land not critical to the airport or aeronautical business, and at the same time we acquired land such as the solar farm and some lifestyle blocks.
“We used proceeds from the sale and development of our land to income-generating assets such as the hotels, commercial buildings, and lifestyle blocks.”
Council group manager for district growth and regulatory Wayne Allan said one of their key roles was to encourage economic development in Waipā, while protecting the environment.
“When we make allowances for industry and land development, we must remember that we are kaitiaki to this area and its biodiversity. We need to ensure local businesses are looked after ... all while protecting our whenua for future generations,” Allan said.
“The additional land ... will provide more options for businesses to call Waipā home, adding to the suite of land opportunities we have to offer following the recent rezoning of 75ha of land in Hautapu.
“I think everyone involved can agree, we are future-proofing our natural heritage and creating economic opportunity. That is a win-win we can all be proud of.”
Morgan said earthworks on the development and bat sanctuaries could begin in 2025.
“How long it takes to develop will be determined by the market, our view is it’s probably a 15- to 20-year development,” he said.
“We hope to start stage one earthworks towards the end of this coming summer, so by March or April 2025 we would be underway with stage one. That’s the intention at this point subject to our final board sign-off and agreement to that strategy.”
People can search for the maps on the council’s ePlan online tool by searching for the Northern Precinct at the airport.
