Review of the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan

We’re reviewing the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan to ensure it reflects the needs of our communities. As a combined unitary plan under section 80 of the Resource Management Act (RMA), it guides how we manage and protect Tairāwhiti’s natural and physical resources - including land use, development, and environmental wellbeing.

Because the plan is large and wide-ranging, we began updating it through a series of targeted plan changes and had already made significant progress. However, in August 2025 the Government introduced Plan Stop legislation, which required all further work on the review to pause.

The Plan Stop legislation

As part of the transition to a new resource management system, expected to be in place from mid-2026, the Government introduced Plan Stop legislation. This prevents councils from notifying plan changes until 31 December 2027.

The legislation includes:

• Removing the requirement for councils to complete 10-year reviews of plans or implement the National Planning Standards.
• Removing the ability to notify new plan or regional policy statement reviews, changes or variations unless they have an automatic or discretionary exemption.
• Extending the restriction on notifying freshwater planning instruments for a further 2 years, until 31 December 2027. This includes our catchment plans and our regional freshwater plan.

The exemption pathway

Because some issues in Tairāwhiti are urgent and the work on certain plan changes was already well underway, Council decided to apply for 2 exemptions so this important work could continue. These exemptions were for the draft Urban Plan Change 6 and our Sustainable Land Use programme.

On 5 February 2026, we received an exemption from the Government’s “Plan Stop” for Urban Plan Change 6.

This plan change updates zoning rules for Gisborne city and aims to support more housing in safe, well-serviced areas.

We plan to formally consult on the draft from 25 March - 25 May 2026

We’re still waiting to hear back on our exemption request for the Sustainable Land Use.

Key changes for us

• Removing the requirement to undertake 10-year reviews on our plans or implement the National Planning Standards.
• Removing the ability to notify new plan or regional policy statement reviews, changes or variations unless we have an automatic or discretionary exemption.
• Extending the restriction on notifying freshwater planning instruments for a further two years to 31 December 2027 which includes our catchment plans, and our regional freshwater plan.

What this means for our plan review

Council recognises the urgent need to address issues that reflect our realities here in Tairāwhiti. At this stage, we intend to apply for two exemptions so that some of our critical plan changes can continue – the draft Urban Plan Change 6, and our work on transitioning land use.

The Urban Plan Change 6 updates district plan rules for Gisborne City that are more than 20 years old and have a focus on enabling housing growth in safe, well-serviced areas.

Preparing for the new system

We are also reshaping our resource management planning work programme to be prepared for the transition to the new resource management system. Draft policy direction and legislation about the new system is being worked on by the Ministry for the Environment. Our goal is a smooth transition for our region.

We will keep our community updated on the outcomes of any exemption processes and share opportunities for people to have their say as our work progresses.

Stay engaged:

• Visit and follow our participate page for engagements and consultations on the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan review - https://participate.gdc.govt.nz/
• Sign up for Council’s He Pānui - https://www.gdc.govt.nz/council/news
• Subscribe to the Ministry for the Environment newsletter for national updates - https://environment.govt.nz/