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Last modified: 10 May 2023 10:39am

The District Plan Review project has hit an important milestone, with hearings of all submissions on the Proposed Selwyn District Plan finishing last month.

In total, the Council has covered 38 hearing topics since August 2021. The Proposed Plan is a ‘rule book’ for what activities property owners can do as of right (permitted activities) and what activities need a resource consent for from the Council.
“It’s been a long journey to get here; the once-in-a-decade makeover of our district’s rule book has been underway since late 2020 when we first notified the Proposed District Plan for public consultation”, says Tim Harris, Group Manager Development and Growth.
“We would like to thank everyone who has at different stages of the review taken the time to have their say and helped shape the Proposed Plan, which prepares our district for the future.”

Being a digital plan, it’s now easier for people to find the relevant rules and information about their property. The Proposed Plan has also changed the focus from the effects of landowners’ actions on others, to what type of activities people can undertake.

Initially, the expectation was that the new district plan would be in full effect by the end of last year. However, the Council was required to make changes to the Proposed District Plan last year, following the introduction of the new national legislation by the Government to enable housing supply across the country.

This resulted in the Council notifying a mandatory variation to the Proposed Plan in August 2022, which introduced new housing intensification rules, enabling more housing and at greater heights in Rolleston, Lincoln and Prebbleton.
“This week we’ve started hearings to hear submissions lodged on the Variation. This is a separate process from Proposed District Plan hearings. However, given the close timing of both we’ve decided to align the decision making process and release decisions on both Proposed District Plan and Variation to it at the same time”, says Tim Harris.

The decisions will be notified prior to 20 August. The Council expects the Proposed Plan to become fully operative soon after that, subject to any appeals.

Find more information on the Proposed District Plan .
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