What it means for Taupō – Insights into upcoming Resource Management Act changes

At a local level, a brand new zone is being proposed for the Taupō District. 

The Māori Purpose Zone is designed to enable development of Māori Land, with this type of zoning already operating in other districts across New Zealand. New consenting rules will allow development up to a threshold level where resource consent is not required. 

This will help enable activities such as: 

• establishing papakāinga 

• marae upgrades 

• kaumātua housing 

• small scale commercial and agricultural ventures 

• cultural, educational and community activities 

The initiative recognises the additional complexity that can exist when developing land with multiple owners.
BTW Company has a long history of assisting marae committees throughout the Central North Island and working with hapū to carry out feasibility studies prior to upgrades or investment. We welcome enquiries in this space. 

Yes. The new zone is still at the proposed stage, meaning it does not yet have legal status and the details of how it will operate are still open for discussion. 

However, it is closing next week. Submissions on the proposed Māori Purpose Zone are open until Thursday 19 March. 

If you are considering making a submission, it will be classified in one of five ways: 

• Support 

• Oppose 

• Support or oppose in part, with conditions 

• Neutral 

It is important that submissions accurately reflect your position. A common occurrence is for people who generally support a proposal to submit an opposition because it is not exactly how they would like it structured. 

It is also worth noting that if you do not submit now, the opportunity to revisit the issue may not arise again for several years.

At a national level, the Resource Management Act 1991 is expected to be replaced by two new pieces of legislation: the Planning Act and the Natural Environment Act. 

Under the proposed structure: 

• territorial authorities such as Taupō District Council remain 

• regional councils, including Waikato Regional Council, will be replaced 

• new Combined Territories Boards will be established to manage regional resource issues. 

The intention is that this new structure will allow complex regional issues to be managed more effectively. 

For Taupō, examples include: 

• protecting Lake Taupō and Tongariro National Park while enabling tourism and energy production 

• ensuring SH 1 remains fit-for-purpose through the district 

• providing for housing growth pressures 

supporting renewable energy development 

The boundaries for the new Combined Territories Boards have not yet been confirmed. 

There are expected to be around 17 regions nationally, broadly aligned with catchment areas. 

If the Waikato region follows the existing Waikato Regional Council boundary, the new governance area would include: 

• from Tūrangi in the south 
• north through the Waikato River catchment to Pōkeno 
• including Hamilton 
• east to Rotorua and the Coromandel Peninsula 
• west to Raglan and Mōkau. 

Once established, each Combined Territories Board will need to organise itself and produce: 

• a Spatial Plan 
• an Environment Plan 

These plans will guide infrastructure investment and natural resource management over a 30-year timeframe. 

The Taupō District Plan will ultimately become a chapter within the broader regional plan. 

Importantly, Taupō District Council will continue to deliver its usual services to residents, including maintaining roads, operating libraries and responding to noise complaints. 

With national reforms, local planning changes and an election cycle underway, it is understandable that some uncertainty exists. 

However, development and infrastructure projects are continuing across the region. 

Here’s a quick look at what land developers might expect in the next few years: 

• an overhaul of the consenting system with fewer consents overall 

• more low impact activities becoming permitted by default 

• transitional provisions where some RMA based processes will continue 

• existing consents and applications remaining in place 

At BTW Company we are helping clients understand what applies now, what is changing, and how to make informed decisions through the transition. Our land development experts work with you to interpret the rules, avoid assumptions and translate policy into site specific reality.