Plan Change 29 (PC29) was publicly notified in August 2023 and received 882 submissions, along with 75 further submissions. A hearing was held from 26 August to 17 September 2024, during which the Hearing Panel reviewed evidence and submissions. Council staff provided a Right of Reply, and the Panel has since released its decisions, recommending amendments to several chapters of the Nelson Resource Management Plan. On 5 June 2025, Council accepted the Panel’s recommendations in full. You can find the hearing materials, reports, and decisions in the Plan Change 29 Hearing Portal, and watch the Council meeting on YouTube.

Environment Court Appeal

An appeal against the decision to decline the introduction of the Medium Density Residential Zone, General Residential Zone and the associated provisions has been lodged with the Environment Court.

Read the Appeal: Notice of Appeal by Megan Courtney Against Decisions - Plan Change 29

The period for submitters to join the appeal has now closed, and 13 parties have joined.

The Environment Court has asked all parties to the appeal whether they are willing to discuss the matters at mediation. The purpose of mediation is to attempt to resolve all or some matters rather than have these go to a formal court hearing. All parties have agreed to this step.

At mediation, all parties are tasked with understanding each other’s views on the issues and potentially agree on an option to resolve the appeal. The Environment Court has appointed a commissioner who will facilitate this meditation. Mediation is a confidential, without prejudice process. A Council officer with delegated authority on behalf of Council will attend mediation and co-operate in good faith to attempt to settle the appeal (in full or in part). If full agreement at mediation is not reached then the matters not agreed will be heard and decided by the Environment Court.

PC29 (or parts of it) cannot be made operative until all appeals relating to those parts are resolved.

Further updates will be provided as the Environment Court process progresses.