Landscape assessment

Broadscale studies:   

David provides broadscale landscape assessments for regions and districts. These are important tools for local authorities to plan future land uses in compliance with the Resource Management Act.

Assessments of existing landscapes:

He also carries out landscape assessments of existing properties and tracts of land in order to guide future protection and development proposals. These are used in high country tenure review and in planning applications and appeals.

Anticipation of landscape effects:

The third type of assessment is the analysis of the anticipated landscape effects of specific development scenarios on existing landscapes. These come into play when local authorities and the Environment Court are called on to approve or turn down planning applications. They are also used by the likes of mobile phone utilities and forestry companies for predicting public attitudes to their proposals.

Landscape planning

David provides landscape analysis to help guide the preparation of Regional Plans, District Plans and Plan Changes, with the purpose of ensuring that future development areas are integrated seamlessly within the wider landscape setting and that natural processes and patterns are not significantly compromised.

He has particular experience in the provision of multi-functional public open space networks that articulate new neighbourhoods and cater for stormwater management, public recreation and alternative transport modes

Master planning

Master plans are often prepared by multi-disciplinary teams, including resource management planners, traffic planners, urban designers, network utility operators and others. David brings a valuable understanding of the patterns and functioning of the natural landscape to these plans, ensuring that they are based on sustainable planning principles that respect and build on natural processes.

Site planning and design

Carefully thought out site planning enables a property to be developed efficiently to make the best use of its physical and aesthetic qualities.  It brings together a detailed analysis of the underlying site characteristics and an understanding of the requirements of the client , to achieve sympathetic integration of the development into its setting.

Management planning

David has considerable experience in preparing management plans for individual parks and for greenspace networks, within the regulatory framework of the Reserves Act. He has developed techniques to ensure that greenspace improvements will be prioritised and funded through local authorities' Long Term Plan process, in accordance with the Local Government Act.

Subdivision design

Subdivision design is also a multi-disciplinary task. The landscape architect has a major role in making the development appealing to prospective purchasers, without excessive up-front expenditure and in a way that will not cause undue future maintenance burdens. David has played a key role in planning a number of subdivisions, and has audited open space provision and the landscaping of open space networks in many more.

Coastal land management

Throughout New Zealand the understanding of the processes that shape our sandy beach and dunes systems has lept ahead over the past twenty years, fuelled by the requirements of the Resource Management Act and the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, as well as by the sheer cost of failing to work with nature.

David has been closely involved with the trialling of sustainable coastal management techniques, and can help coastal communities to establish robust, viable, eco-friendly coastal management regimes.

Landscape restoration

There are many opportunities to live more sustainably by restoring natural systems and habitats to our settlements and farmland. Examples include low impact urban stormwater management, restoration of riparian buffers along lowland streams, the design of wetland systems to restore ecology and water quality, and the re-establishment and management of dryland bush blocks

Work in Auckland, Canterbury and Nelson regions has contributed to David's understanding of the composition of New Zealand's unique habitats and of the needs of successful habitat restoration. It has included the restoration of coastal wetlands and dunes, management plans for lowland forest remnants, and the vetting of planting plans for surface stormwater treatment systems.

Heritage landscapes

While the protection of built heritage is a well established discipline, the understanding, protection and management of heritage landscapes is still in its infancy in New Zealand. Living vegetation, complete with associated ecological webs, need to be managed in a very different way from inanimate structures.

The 2003 Resource Management Act amendment has placed the protection of landscape heritage on a par with the protection of natural character.

David has been establishing regimes to guide the long term management of heritage landscapes around Christchurch. He is able to use this experience to help others throughout the country to protect the character and values of their heritage landscapes, while allowing for natural evolution to continue.