20Certain existing land uses allowed

1. A person may, without a planning consent, use land in a manner that contravenes a national rule, a rule in a plan, or a rule in a proposed plan that has legal effect if,—

2. before the rule came into force, the use—
   1. was a permitted activity or otherwise could have been lawfully carried out without a planning consent; and
   2. was lawfully established; and
3. the effects of the use are the same or similar in character, intensity, and scale to those that existed before the rule came into force.

4. A person may, without a planning consent, use land in a manner that contravenes a national rule, a rule in a plan, or a rule in a proposed plan that has legal effect if—

5. the use was lawfully established by way of a designation; and
6. the designation has since been removed; and
7. the effects of the use are the same or similar in character, intensity, and scale to those that existed before the designation was removed.

8. Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a use of land if—

9. the use has been discontinued for a continuous period of more than 12 months at any time after the rule came into force unless an extension granted under section 21 applies; or
10. any reconstruction, alteration, or extension of or to any building increases the extent to which the use contravenes the rule; or
11. the use is of the surface of water in a lake or river.

12. To avoid doubt, this section does not apply to a use of land that is controlled or restricted under section 18 or 19 of the Natural Environment Act 2025.

13. In this section, came into force,—

14. in relation to a national rule, means the rule commenced; and
15. in relation to a rule in a plan, means the rule became operative; and
16. in relation to a rule in a proposed plan, means the rule had legal effect.