Plan Change 66 – Miscellaneous 3

RMA Reform will substantively change New Zealand’s planning system and will require the development of a new combined regional spatial and district plan. During the transition, the current District Plan will remain in place until about 2030 when the regional plans are complete.   

In early 2025, the council began work on Plan Change 66 – Miscellaneous 3 (PC 66), which seeks to address the ongoing issues that make the District Plan inefficient and difficult to use, leading to unintended policy outcomes during the transition period.

The council has chosen to progress technical and infrastructure changes within PC 66 rather than substantive policy or zoning consideration, which are better dealt with through the new regional plan.

In mid-2025, the Government announced a nationwide Plan Stop, requiring councils to seek formal approval from the Minister for RMA reform to proceed with plan changes.

In November 2025, the council made a formal request(PDF, 2MB) to the Minister for RMA reform for an exemption to continue with the plan change. On 5 February 2026, the council received approval for the Plan Stop exemption(PDF, 202KB).  

The proposed changes approved under the Plan Stop exemption are:

  • Removal of the requirement of the NZ firefighting water supplies code of practice 2008 (SNZ PAS 4509:2008) from the District Plan and reliance on the Building Code for fire safety regulation.
  • Make earthworks associated with the erection of retaining walls, under the supervision of an engineer, a permitted activity.
  • Updates to designations and reapplications for lapsed designations. 
  • Removal of Engineering Standards from the District Plan to make a standalone document.  
  • Updates to the Transport chapter to better align with NZTA standards.
  • Updates to the Town Centre Design Guidelines to reflect the current planning system.

Information relating to Plan Change 66 – Miscellaneous is below.

On 6 August 2026, the council approved Plan Change 66 for notification (see below for all notification documents)

Stage one: plan stop exemption

Report to council requesting delegation of functions to Officers under Resource Management Act 1991(PDF, 80KB).   

Application to the Minister for the Plan Stop Exemption approval(PDF, 2MB)

Decision by Minister to proceed PC66(PDF, 202KB)

Stage two: Notification documents

Submissions open on Thursday 13 August and close at 5pm on Monday 14th September 2026.

Submissions can be made online through the District Plan submission page.

Any person may make a submission online or alternatively, a written or electronic submission may be sent to Whanganui District Council, PO Box 637, Whanganui 4541, or email PlanningPolicy@whanganui.govt.nz. The submission must be in the format of Form 5 and state whether or not you wish to be heard on your submission. Copies of the form are available from the Council offices and website (see above). Electronic submissions do not require a signature.

The proposed changes may also be inspected during normal office hours at:

  • Customer Services Desk at Whanganui District Council, 101 Guyton Street; or
  • Public Libraries at Queens Park and Gonville; or
  • Anytime on the Council’s District Plan website

 

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