Our district plan provisions are being updated as part of the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan review. These provisions give us a rule book for managing development activities and the environment with the aim of meeting the needs of current and future generations.
We now have a draft Urban Plan Change ready for public notification, however the timeline for notification has been affected by the recent changes from central government.
Plan Stop legislation includes
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 in March 2026
We’re still waiting to hear back on our exemption request for the Sustainable Land Use
Changes in district plan provisions
We've completed our Future Development Strategy 2024 -2054. This is a planning tool that outlines potential for future housing growth over the next 30 years.
To put this strategy in action we need to make changes to the district plan provisions of the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan. The new plan content must comply with National Planning Standards.
We're offering a comprehensive framework focusing on the sustainable management of our resources while supporting our communities to live and grow.
The first phase is an urban focussed plan change followed by a separate update for the remainder of the district provisions which includes rural areas.
Urban Plan Change 6
This plan change supports housing choice and supply by introducing several changes, including:
- A new Medium Density Residential zone in Gisborne City that specifically enables duplexes, terraced housing and apartments
- A new Mixed Use zone enabling dwellings in combination with commercial uses
- A new City Centre zone to help revitalisation
- A new Future Urban zone in the Back Ormond Road area, to signal the future expansion of the urban area.
Timeline
- March 2024 - Future Development Strategy adopted
- February 2025 - Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan engagement including masterplans and draft zoning options
- March 2025 - Urban Plan Change 6 engagement with Treaty partners
- August 2025 - Councillors support an exemption for the plan change
- September 2025 - Exemption letters sent to ministers
- February 2026 – Exemption granted
How to stay involved
If you're interested in the district plan provisions, or anything related to the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan review, you can:
- Check for any open engagements including the Urban Plan Change 6 consultation which is scheduled for 25 March 2026 - kōrero mai have your say via our engagement portal
- Ask us a question - email the team at trmp@gdc.govt.nz
- Sign up for Council News | He Pānui - using this form