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Planning Bill

Combined plan

63: Regional combined plan

You could also call this:

"A plan that combines all the local plans for each region in New Zealand"

Illustration for Planning Bill

You will have a combined plan for each region in New Zealand. This plan helps people access local plans in their region. It includes a regional spatial plan, a natural environment plan, and land use plans. You can find the combined plan online, as regional councils must publish it. They need help from spatial plan committees and territorial authorities to do this. These groups must give the regional council electronic versions of their plans. They must do this as soon as possible after the plans are adopted or updated. But if there are national standards for publishing combined plans, these rules do not apply. A plan becomes part of the combined plan when it is adopted or becomes operative. The combined plan is made up of different parts, including the regional spatial plan, natural environment plan, and land use plans. Each of these plans has its own rules for when it becomes part of the combined plan. You can look at subpart 1 of this Part for the regional spatial plan, subpart 1 of Part 3 of the Natural Environment Act 2025 for the natural environment plan, and subpart 2 of this Part for the land use plan.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1550816.

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Topics:
Environment and resources > Town planningGovernment and voting > Local councilsHousing and property > Land use
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62: Amendments to national standards without full process, or

"The Minister can make quick changes to national standards without the usual process for good reasons."

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64: Every region must have regional spatial plan, or

"Each region in New Zealand must have its own plan."

Part 3Combined plan

63Regional combined plan

  1. There must be a combined plan for each region at all times.

  2. The purpose of the combined plan is to support public access to plans developed by local authorities within a region.

  3. A combined plan consists of—

  4. the regional spatial plan for the region (see subpart 1 of this Part); and
    1. the natural environment plan for the region (see subpart 1 of Part 3 of the Natural Environment Act 2025); and
      1. a land use plan for each district within the boundaries of the region (see subpart 2 of this Part).

        1. A regional council must publish the combined plan in an electronically accessible format on an appropriate internet site that it maintains.

        2. To enable the regional council to meet the publication requirements specified in subsection (4)—

        3. each spatial plan committee must provide to the regional council an electronic version of the regional spatial plan for the region; and
          1. each territorial authority must provide to the regional council an electronic version of the land use plan for its district.

            1. A spatial plan committee and a territorial authority must provide the plans to the regional council under subsection (5)—

            2. as soon as reasonably practicable after the plan has been adopted or becomes operative; and
              1. each time the plan is changed or updated.

                1. Subsections (4) to (6) do not apply if a national standard specifies different publication requirements for combined plans.

                2. A regional spatial plan, or a provision of that plan, forms part of a combined plan when the regional spatial plan or the provision is adopted.

                3. A land use plan, or a provision of that plan, forms part of a combined plan when the land use plan or the provision becomes operative.

                4. A natural environment plan, or a provision of that plan, forms part of a combined plan when the natural environment plan or the provision becomes operative.