The owners of Bay of Plenty coastal farmland have won their case to have an environmental classification removed from 964 hectares of their properties.

Federated Farmer's Bay of Plenty regional policy adviser Gwyn Morgan took the case on behalf of 27 individual members of the federation to appeal the Bay of Plenty Regional Council maps which defined parts of their farms as being of environmental significance.

The rural land affected by the Coastal Environment classification is spread along the entire coastline under the jurisdiction of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

'It's taken three years and a ruling by the Environment Court that we go into mediation with council to achieve this outcome,” says Gwyn.

As part of that mediation, council staff visited the affected farmers to see first-hand the impacts the definition, under the National Coastal Policy Statement, would have on their land use.

Gwyn says an on farm meeting with land owners was used to show council staff what was rural land and what was coastal land and once they understood the concerns of the farmers, more practical solutions were reached through mediation.

Initially council had drawn lines on a map defining areas of the Coastal Environment, which in some cases extended over 400 metres inland.

She says Federated Farmers is not opposed to council's statutory requirement to implement the National Coast Policy Statement, but in this case was concerned no consideration was given to current land use within the boundaries, and that affected landowners were not consulted appropriately.

'While it's unclear exactly how land use could be restricted if the classicisation had remained, it is our job to look at the worst case scenario, which could include future restrictions on buildings and perhaps even land use.

'It is my experience that rules go only one way. They don't become more permissive but become more restrictive over time. This has potential to devalue the land.”

Because of those risks, Federated Farmers had little option but to take the case on behalf of its members he says.

'Other farmers, who are not federation members but are also affected by the new provisions, may not be so lucky and may find the restrictions remain over their land.

"If councils draw unreasonable lines through productive pastoral land, we will oppose it every time.”

Gwyn says had council done more than inform landowners of the proposed classification by letter (which some landowners didn't receive) and instead held public meetings to discuss the proposals, it was possible the issue would not have gone to court.

'We encourage consultation and collaboration and central government is now also calling for more collaboration rather than statutory measures.”

The win means an "interpretative precedent" has been set for the way all councils mapped boundaries of coastal land, says Gwyn.