In this section

In this section you can find information on the hearings of submissions and further submissions on the Proposed Selwyn District Plan. Hearings were scheduled based on the submissions topics. Hearings were held between August 2021 and May 2023. The Council notified its decisions on submissions and further submissions on 19 August 2023.

All hearings were livestreamed on Council’s YouTube channel. Recordings of the hearings can be found on Council’s YouTube channel.

Latest update

Council’s decisions on submissions are now available. Please refer to the individual hearing topic page to view the decision on each hearing topic.

Want to attend a hearing?  

You can expect to hear from us 25 working days ahead of the scheduled hearing for the topic that your submission(s) falls under. At this stage we will advise you of key dates for the exchange of evidence and list of submissions to be considered at the hearing. You will then need to let us know at least 15 working days prior to the hearing if you still wish to be heard in relation to your topic.

timeline proposed district plan hearings

About the Hearings Panel

The Council appointed a Hearings Panel with six independent commissioners. Two were iwi commissioners, and four were councillors:

  • Rob van Voorthuysen (chair of the panel), Gary Rae (co-chair), Lindsay Daysh, Andrew Willis, Yvette Couch-Lewis, Raewyn Solomon
  • Councillors Malcolm Lyall, Nicole Reid, Debra Hasson, Mark Alexander.

The first three scheduled hearings, which cover strategic topics, were heard by the full Hearings Panel. The rest were heard by one of two separate panels.

Hearings Panel directions and minutes

Here you can find the Panel’s directions and minutes as they are issued:

Communications to the Hearings Panel

This section includes all general formal correspondence to the Hearings Panel, including responses from submitters and Council, as required. Examples of such correspondence are requests to the Hearings Panel for a change to the hearing procedure or to consider material which may not have been received within the timeframes set out by the Hearings Panel. In these circumstances, the submitter needs to provide compelling reasons and the panel has the discretion to accept or reject such requests. Correspondence to the Hearings Panel that relates to specific hearing topics can be found under the link for that hearing topic.

All communication is to be sent to the Hearings Administrator, Emma Robertson, at hearings@selwyn.govt.nz

All formal correspondence can be found on the Submitters Correspondence to the Hearings Panel online database.

All formal correspondence from Council Officers can be found on the Council Officers' Correspondence to the Hearings Panel online database.

Hearing topics and schedule

The hearings on submissions and further submissions have been scheduled based on the 30 separate topics the submissions cover. To help submitters plan ahead, below is the provisional schedule. This schedule may change as the hearings proceed. Any changes will be posted here:

Process for rezoning requests

A slightly different process will be followed for those submissions on the Proposed District Plan which relate to requests to rezone particular areas of land in the district. For more information visit the Rezoning requests under Proposed District Plan webpage.

Procedural reports

There may be occasions where reports need to be provided from Council staff to the Hearing Panel to assist with procedural matters and an efficient hearing process. Examples include reports of late original and further submissions which the panel may either accept or reject before commencement of the hearing.