Plan Change 29 was publicly notified on 11 August 2023 and closed for submissions at 4:00pm Tuesday 31 October, we received 882 submissions, 75 further submissions, and 4 further submissions on the two late submissions.

The hearing occurred between Monday, 26 August and Tuesday, 17 September in the Council Chamber, you can find the recordings, officer reports, additional technical information and read about the Panel members in the Plan Change 29 Hearing Portal.

Council staff have prepared a Right of Reply in response to the information supplied at the Hearing for the Hearing Panel to consider.

The Hearing Panel has released its reports and decisions on submissions to Plan Change 29 (PC29), which include recommended amendments to the proposed provisions.

The Panel has accepted some aspects of PC29 while rejecting others, resulting in changes across multiple chapters of the Nelson Resource Management Plan (NRMP). Read the six hearing panel reports that summarise the recommendations, outline decisions on submissions, and present the revised provisions.

At its meeting on 5 June 2025, the Council accepted the recommendations of the independent Hearing Panel in full. The decisions reflect the Hearing Panel’s findings and reasons as set out in their recommendation report. For anyone wishing to watch the discussion and decision-making process, the meeting can be viewed on the Council’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/NelsonCouncil.

Following the Council meeting on Tuesday, 10 June 2025, all submitters were formally notified of the Council’s decision and provided information on the next steps, including appeal rights. Submitters have 30 working days to appeal to the Environment Court if they disagree with the decision on their submission. View the public notice.