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Planning Bill

Combined plan - Land use plans - Other matters

101: Disputes relating to whether land use plan implements national instruments or regional spatial plan

You could also call this:

"Disputes about land use plans following national rules or regional plans"

You might have a dispute about whether a land use plan follows national rules or a regional spatial plan. This can be about a national policy direction, a national standard, or a regional spatial plan. The Minister or a territorial authority can take this dispute to the Environment Court. You can take a dispute to the Environment Court if you think a land use plan does not follow the rules. The court will look at the dispute and decide what to do. If the court thinks the plan does not follow the rules, it can order changes to the plan. The Environment Court does not have to make changes if it thinks the problem is small or does not matter much. It will consider whether the land use plan follows national instruments or the regional spatial plan. The court's decision will depend on what it finds out.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1522269.

This page was last updated on 12 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Environment and resources > Town planningHousing and property > Land use

100: Statutory acknowledgements to be attached to land use plans, or

"Important notes about an area are added to its land use plan"

102: Presumption of validity, or

"Assuming a land use plan is valid unless someone challenges it"

Part 3Combined plan
Land use plans: Other matters

101Disputes relating to whether land use plan implements national instruments or regional spatial plan

This section applies if there is a dispute about whether a land use plan implements—
a national policy direction; or
a national standard; or
any relevant provision of a regional spatial plan.

The Minister, the territorial authority responsible for the land use plan, or the spatial plan committee responsible for the regional spatial plan may refer the dispute to the Environment Court.
If, after considering the dispute, the Environment Court considers that the land use plan does not implement or is not in accordance with (as the case requires) the relevant provisions of a national instrument or the regional spatial plan, the court must order the territorial authority to amend the plan in accordance with section 47(4) or (5) (as applicable).
However, the Environment Court does not need to make an order under subsection (3) if it considers that the departure from a national instrument or the regional spatial plan is minor or inconsequential.