Whakamahere Whakatū Nelson Plan

The Whakamahere Whakatū Nelson Plan has been in the works at Nelson City Council since 2013, and is a the overarching document for managing how Nelson grows and develops, and for protecting our natural environment.

The plan was anticipated to be publicly notified in early 2022, the same year the Government’s new legislation is now expected to be passed.

Nelson City Council has decided to pause the release of the Whakamahere Whakatū Nelson Plan for now, primarily due to the risk that anticipated new legislation will require significant changes to resource management plans in local government. Government announced broad Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms in July 2021, and the impact of those changes is still not certain. The legislative changes and timeframes are out of Council’s control, however we are anticipating the new legislation in 2022.  

In the interim, Council will focus on progressing some key issues relating to housing, freshwater, coastal inundation and lower Maitai flooding, and air quality.  For many of the other topics, we expect much of the work that has been done to date will be able to be transferred into new plans under the new legislation.