The Government’s first set of National Planning Standards (17 of them) were released on 5 April 2019 and will come into force on 3 May 2019. These will lead to changes in the planning system that may affect your business and future projects.
What are the National Planning Standards?
Released by the Minister for the Environment and the Minister of Conservation, the National Planning Standards require changes to council District/Unitary/Combined/Regional plans and policy statements to improve nationwide consistency and efficiency in the planning system.
5. Noise and vibration standards.
Councils are required to update their plans and policies within five to seven years of the release date of the standards.
How do they affect my business?
The National Policy Standards will generate a lot of activity over the next few years as Councils throughout the country amend their district/city/regional plans and policy statements to align with the new standards. The majority of the planning standards will be implemented (ie. plans changed) without going through normal RMA plan change processes (ie. without notification, submissions and hearings). This is because the new Standards are, for the most part, structure and format standards.
The new Standards do not dictate local policy matters or the substantive content of plans. These matters remain the responsibility of local councils and communities. However, we do expect that some of the changes required to align with the new Standards will have more substantive implications and these will require the normal RMA plan change processes to be followed.
It will be these subsequent plan review processes that may affect your business or future projects by altering the planning zones, definitions and controls that currently govern your activities.
This could lead to different opportunities or restrictions on your land or activity.
We want to make sure your business is prepared for long-term success. Our planning team can provide tailored guidance on the content of the National Planning Standards and what they may mean for the district and regional plans and policy statements that affect you.
If you have any questions on the National Planning Standards or if you would like our assistance, please contact Andrew Collins (General Manager Planning, 021 972 631).