District Plan

Transitional Consenting from 30 October 2026.

Find out about the changes to resource consenting introduced by the Planning Act 2026 and Natural Environment Act 2026.

Transitional Consenting

Transitional Consenting

On 30th September the Planning Act 2026 and the Natural Environment Act 2026 passed into law. The two acts will become the primary resource management legislation in New Zealand, Aotearoa, into the future. The Planning Act provides for a transition period between the Resource Management Act (‘RMA’) and the new system which will last until at least 2030. During this transition period, the RMA will continue to manage the resource consenting process albeit in the modified way. The Planning Act introduces changes to the RMA and the effects which can be considered in district plan applications.

Transition period

Schedule 1, clause 1 of the Planning Act defines the transition period as commencing 30 October 2026 and ending on the day before the RMA is repealed, which is anticipated to occur in or after 2030. During the transition period, the RMA continues to apply subject to the amendments set out in Schedule 12 of the Planning Act.

Amendments to the RMA

Schedule 12 of the Planning Act lists amendments to other legislation. Included in the list of amendments are numerous changes to the RMA which occur at the start of the transition period (30 October 2026). Two key new sections are inserted into the RMA: s76A and s104(1A).

New section 104(1A) in the RMA is introduced as part of these amendments. This section narrows the scope of effects which can be considered by a consent authority when considering a district land use activity. Section 104(1A) states:

(1A) When considering the effects of a district land use activity, a consent authority must disregard:

(a) any of the following where they relate to residential activities (except in relation to the protection of historic heritage):

(i) the area of glazing

(ii) the presence or absence of balconies

(iii) the outdoor living space

(iv) the internal layout:

(v) the size of a residential unit:

(vi) the size of landscaped areas (except in relation to permeability):

(b) negative effects of development on trade competition, including on competing providers of input goods and services:

(c) effects on retail distribution:

(d) in relation to a project,—

(i) any lack of demand for the project; or

(ii) the fact that the project is not financially viable:

(e) the type of residents to be housed in a new development:

(f) views from private property.

New section 76 states that a “rule must not require a resource consent for an activity solely because it relates to a matter specified in section 104(1A)”. New section 76A allows Council to amend provisions in a district plan to ensure that matters specified in section 104(1A) no longer apply or are no longer considered. The amendment to the district plan is to occur without using the usual plan change process in Schedule 1 of the RMA. Section 76A states:

A territorial authority may, during the transition period, amend provisions in a district plan, without using the process in Schedule 1, to—

(a) remove provisions relating to matters specified in section 104(1A):

(b) modify provisions to the extent necessary to ensure that matters specified in section 104(1A) no longer apply or are no longer considered.

Changes to the Proposed District Plan and Operative District Plan.

Council is considering whether to make changes to the Proposed District Plan and Operative District Plan using section 76A to achieve consistency between Gore’s plans and section 104(1A).

Prior to changing the plan, Council intends to identify the relevant provisions in our Proposed District Plan and make this information available as a draft change shown in the ePlan itself. This work is in progress.

Out of scope provisions will be identified with a blue dashed line box around the relevant provision. Changes will be shown with strikethrough for deletions and underlining for changes. Some provisions will have highlighted annotation marking that the section 104(1A) effects exclusions may be relevant, but these provisions may remain without any strikethrough or change where:

(a) they will still apply for non-residential / business activities;

(b) where it is too difficult to separate out the out-of-scope matters from the rest of the provision, or where deletion of text may remove the meaning of related clauses;

(c) where there may be some effects that still need to be considered on adjacent sites such as privacy, overlooking, dominance and shading; and

(d) other reasons.

Council will publish the amended chapters for the Proposed District Plan in two tranches. The first tranche will appear on or around the 30 October 2026, with the remaining chapters following soon afterwards.

Effects on appeals

Appeals on the Proposed District Plan are currently being worked through and the appeals version of the plan is now available online. No change will be made to the sections of the Proposed District Plan that are subject to appeal until after the appeal has been resolved. Once resolved the appeal section will then be reviewed to determine which parts need to be modified under s76A and s104(1A). The sections which are subject to appeals are marked with an orange dashed line box.

Operative District Plan Documents

Cover

• Index
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Matters of National Importance
• Chapter 3: Land Use Activities - A Framework
• Chapter 4: Land Use Activities - Rules
• Chapter 4A: Natural Hazards
• Chapter 5: Transportation
• Chapter 6: Hazardous Substances
• Chapter 7: Utilities
• Chapter 8: Subdivision of Land
• Chapter 9: Financial Contributions
• Chapter 10: Cross Boundary Issues
• Chapter 11: Definitions
• Appendix 1: Schedule of Designations
• Appendix 2: Ngai Tahu Act
• Appendix 3: NZCEP
• Appendix 4: Resource Management (Electricity Transmissions)
• Appendix 5: Resource Management (Soil Contaminants)
• Heritage Structures Schedule
• Significant Trees Schedule

District Plan Maps

• Part 1: Index and Legend
• Part 2: Rural Planning and Hazard Maps
• Part 3: Urban Planning and Hazard Maps
• Part 4: Aerodrome Approach Vectors

District Plan Changes

You can learn more about plan changes and updates using this link.