District Plan

Mahere a-Rohe

What is a District Plan?

The Resource Management Act 1991 requires councils to prepare a District Plan.

The South Taranaki District Plan contains our objectives, policies, rules and maps for managing activities and development in the district.

The District Plan is the main document that sets the framework for managing land use and development within our District. It contains objectives, policies and rules to address resource management issues such as the effects of land use and subdivision, noise and traffic.

The rules of the District Plan set out what activities you can do as of right (permitted activities) and what activities you'll need resource consent for. These rules cover things like residential development, subdivision of land, the height and location of buildings, commercial and industrial developments, heritage and noise.

If your activities are not permitted by the District Plan, you can use the information here to apply for Resource Consent.

Click here for a quick guide for minimum building set ups.

The District Plan review process

Councils are required to review the District Plan every ten years.

Council started the review process of the 2004 South Taranaki District Plan in December 2014. The outcome of the review was a Proposed District Plan that was released for submissions in August 2015 and for further submissions in January 2016. The Council’s Proposed District Plan Hearings Panel carefully considered the matters raised in submissions and heard from many of the submitters. The Council had several appeals to finalise before the proposed South Taranaki District Plan (2015) could become the operative District Plan. The final appeal was decided by the Environment Court in September 2020.

The South Taranaki Proposed District Plan was approved by resolution of the South Taranaki District Council on 14 December 2020.The District Plan became fully operative on 22 January 2021.

Proposed Plan Change

Councils are required to prepare a District Plan under the Resource Management Act 1991. Our Operative District Plan was last reviewed in 2014 and became fully operative on 22 January 2021. In August 2022 we will be initiating a District Plan Change to adopt the latest legislative requirements, plan for the rapid growth happening in South Taranaki and adapt any chapters of the District Plan that need to be amended or updated.

The key areas of focus for the District Plan review are:

Residential Growth: The two existing structure plans will be updated as required to reflect a comprehensive review of infrastructure and zoning requirements for intensification areas, including the establishment of a business park that South Taranaki District Council is in the process of installing lead infrastructure for. We will be looking specifically at development in Hāwera, Ōpunakē and potentially Pātea.
Residential Growth: Establish a structure plan for Ōpunakē that may entail the rezoning of land. This will also make a plan to prepare for future development in Ōpunakē and the current pressures the township is under.
Natural Hazards: We plan to review the District Plan and make changes on fault lines, areas prone to liquefaction, volcanism and flooding as/if required. The review of natural hazards is motivated by legislation changes and the release of more current and up-to-date data.
Rural Development: With the increasing rate of residential development in South Taranaki, protecting the rural zone is a priority of the Council. We plan to review the existing subdivision rules in the rural zone to maintain the rural amenity and values.
Papakāinga Development: Due to an increasing interest in the district for Papakāinga developments, we will review our current provisions to ensure they appropriately provide for such developments and reflect all relevant statutes and local aspirations.
Legislation Changes: There have been a number of legislation changes since the District Plan was reviewed in 2015. Any amendments to legislation and national and regional policy statements need to be incorporated in the District Plan review. This includes Policy 11 of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development and Freshwater and Wetland Protection Legislation.
Other: There are other aspects of the Plan Change that will also be reviewed. This includes incorporating all designations that are in effect but are not listed in Schedule 3, updating our planning maps to reflect any changes, adding any new notable trees to Schedule 4, and fixing any existing minor errors within the plan.

We are aiming for public notification about the information above to occur in early 2023. If you have any questions regarding the proposed plan change, please call 0800 111 323 or email planchange@stdc.govt.nz and someone will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

The District Plan (2015)

Click here to download the full Operative District Plan.

District Plan (2015) - Table of Contents

Section 1	Introduction and Definitions	Purpose of the District Plan, Statutory requirements of the Plan, Structure of District Plan, Categories of Activities, How to use the District Plan, Cross referencing table, Monitoring, Designations, Plan interpretation and definitions, General rules of interpretation, Definitions
Section 2	Objectives and Policies	Rural Zone, Residential Zone, Township Zone, Commercial Zone, Industrial Zone, Rural Industrial Zone, Transportation, Hazardous substances and contaminated land, Energy, Network utilities, Historic heritage, Notable trees, Tangata whenua, Integrated land use and infrastructure planning ,urban growth and financial contributions, Coastal environment, Natural features and landscapes, Indigenous biodiversity, Waterbodies, Natural hazards, Temporary activities, Relocated buildings, Signs
Section 3	Rural Zone Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities, Rural zone appendix 1
Section 4	Residential Zone Rules	Categories of activities, performance standards - permitted activities, Performance standards - restricted discretionary activities, Residential zone appendix 1
Section 5	Township Zone Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities
Section 6	Commercial Zone Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities
Section 7	Industrial Zone Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities, Performance standards - discretionary activities, Industrial zone appendices
Section 8	Rural Industrial Zone Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities, Rural industrial zone appendices
Section 9	Subdivision and Development Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards, Subdivision and development appendix 1 - structure plans
Section 10	Parking and Transportation Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - roads and access ways, vehicle crossings, railway, parking, loading spaces, tree planting, restricted discretionary activities, Parking and transportation appendices
Section 11	Noise Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities, Nosie appendix 1
Section 12	Hazardous Substances Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities, Hazardous substances appendix 1
Section 13	Energy Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities, Energy appendix 1
Section 14	Network Utilities Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted acitivities
Section 15	Heritage Protection Rules	Categories of activities
Section 16	Financial Contribution Rules	General, Recreation and civic development contributions, Roads and access contributions, Water supply contributions, Sanitary drainage and trade waste disposal contributions, Stormwater drainage contributions, Heavy vehicle traffic contributions, parking contributions
Section 17	Natural Environment Rules	Categories of activities, Natural environment appendix 1, Natural environment appendix 2
Section 18	District Wide Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities, District wide rules appendix 1, District wide rules appendix 2
Section 19	Sign Rules	Categories of activities, Performance standards - permitted activities, Performance standards - restricted discretionary actibvities
Section 20	Resource Consent Information Requirements and Assessment Matters	Land use consents, Subdivision consents, Administration requirements, Cross boundary matters, Assessment matters
	Schedule 1	Historic heritage and sites of significance to Tangata whenua
	Schedule 2	Significant natural areas
	Schedule 3	Designations
	Schedule 4	Notable trees
	Schedule 5	Significant Waterbodies
	Schedule 6	Regionally significant Wetlands
	Schedule 7	Marae
	Schedule 8	Outstanding natural features/landscapes and areas of outstanding natural character
	Appendix 1	Hāwera aerodrome protection area
	Appendix 2	Ngāti Ruanui statutory acknowledgement
	Appendix 3	Ngā Rauru statutory acknowledgement

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Mahere a-Rohe