Locally concieved, locally relevant: planning ahead for the next phase of development in South Taranaki.

The South Taranaki District Council needed to review its district plan, so it could meet its obligation under the Resource Management Act, which requires 10-yearly plan reviews. The council decided to seek help, and Boffa Miskell was selected to manage the review, including policy development, consultation and preparation of the new district plan. An inclusive and responsive process based on confirming key issues and finding workable provisions resulted in a new district plan fit for the next 10 years.

Preliminary scoping showed that the existing plan structure worked well, and the district’s environment was not under significant pressure despite major farming, oil and gas activities. However, a number of resource management issues needed to be addressed and plan provisions updated to reflect current practice, so a full plan review was undertaken instead of partial plan changes.

Location

Taranaki

Worked with

Acousafe (noise)
Environmental Resource Management (hazardous substances)
Ivan Bruce (archaeology)
Neil Phillips (biodiversity)

Project date

2013 - 2015

A systematic and consultative review and policy development process followed, aimed at resolving as many issues as possible. Key stakeholders in the district’s towns, rural and productive sectors were consulted for their views while the elected councillors worked through the details of the district plan in a series of workshops. The issues addressed included:

  • small town economic challenges and opportunities;
  • heritage building protection and earthquake strengthening;
  • contrasting views on oil and gas exploration and extraction;
  • the need to update policies in line with the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010.


Boffa Miskell assessed and mapped the coastal environment, including identified outstanding natural features and landscapes. There was a need to upgrade the council’s planning maps – so Boffa Miskell checked all the spatial data and produced new GIS maps for the new plan.

The process saw a high degree of political and stakeholder engagement, aimed at ensuring the new plan would be user-friendly whilst addressing the district’s resource management needs. The new plan was notified in August 2015 and finalised through the formal hearings process in 2016.