A 40ha subdivision is when you obtain an entitlement to subdivide from having at least 80ha in a single title making up your property.  For example, you may have a 95ha farm and which gives you one 40ha entitlement to be used for a separate title and one 40ha entitlement which must stay with the balance of the farm.  Another example may be a 260ha farm, which would give you five 40ha entitlements to subdivide and a balance block of 60ha.

What are the rules for 40ha subdivision?
The Waipa District Plan has some specific rules around 40ha subdivision, the first is that the subdivision can only be undertaken once on the title/that same piece of land.  Consent notices would be registered on the titles flagging the use of the entitlements and preventing the use of them again.  Secondly, you cannot amalgamate, or boundary relocate existing titles to get 80ha to obtain entitlements.  

It is important to note that 40ha entitlements do not have to be created as 40ha allotments. You can create them as any size you like provided they are at least 5,000m2.  For example, if you had an 80ha farm you may wish to have a 5,000m2 lot and a 79.5ha balance farm, rather than two 40ha lots.  Council can become concerned with the rural productivity implications if farms are split into a 5, 10 or 20ha lot, for example, and a strong preference is often a small rural residential lot and a large balance lot where possible.  

The National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) also controls the location and the use of 40ha entitlements when part of the property contains highly productive land (i.e Class 1 to 3) and is in the Rural Zone.  The NPS-HPL requires any subdivision to avoid a loss of highly productive land, which may mean there is a limitation on how the titles can be utilised on the parent property regardless of how the land is currently being farmed.  Cogswell staff can advise further on the use of these entitlements.    

What is the process?
Cogswell will prepare the subdivision application and then complete the topographical survey of the property, and then submit an application to Council.  The consent application will be processed and then issued with a number of conditions.  A consent notice will be a condition on the consent limiting any further 40ha subdivision. 

Contact Cogswell direct to obtain more information on the costs and the timeframe to complete the subdivision.