Appeals and Legal Effect of Decisions

From 30 January 2026, the Proposed District Plan is amended to reflect the decisions, and the rules have legal effect. This means:

• Some activities may require consent under both the Operative District Plan and the Proposed District Plan
• Generally, once appeals are resolved (or if no appeals are lodged), consents will be assessed under the Proposed District Plan
• Provisions under appeal will be clearly identified at the end of the appeal period (16 March 2026)

Do I have to follow the old plan or the new plan?

Potentially both.

• You might need a resource consent under the Proposed Plan
• You might also need a resource consent under the Operative Plan
• This continues until the Proposed Plan becomes fully operative

Think of this as a transition period where the new rules are “live”, but the old ones aren’t fully switched off yet.

When does the new plan fully take over?

Only after all appeals are finished. Once that happens:

• Council tidies up any final changes
• Council formally approves the plan
• A public notice is issued
• The Proposed Plan becomes “operative”

Can parts of the plan become operative earlier?

Yes – the plan can “go live” in stages. If some chapters or zones aren’t appealed, the Council can make those sections operative early, while the appealed parts continue through the process.

Appeals process and timeframes

• Decisions were publicly notified on 30 January 2026
• The appeal period runs until 5:00pm 16 March 2026
• Only people who made a submission can appeal, and only on matters they submitted on. They cannot request withdrawal of the entire Proposed District Plan.
• Appeals are made to the Environment Court
• Other parties may join an appeal within 15 working days after the appeal period closes

You can find out more about the appeal requirements via this link Clause 14 of the 1st Schedule of the Resource Management Act.

Any appeal to the Environment Court must be in the prescribed form, and a copy must also be sent to the Council and any other relevant submitters. The appeal forms can be found on the Environment Court website – here’s the link Forms & fees | Environment Court of New Zealand.

We will publish appeal notices and other information on this website.

Appeal Period

Following public notification of the Gore Proposed District Plan Decisions Version on 30 January 2026, the period for lodging appeals closed on the 16 March 2026.

Under s274 of the RMA, parties may become a party to an Environment Court appeal within 15 working days of the period for lodging a notice of appeal ends. More details on this process can be found here: Get involved in a proceeding | Environment Court of New Zealand