Council calls for Further Submissions on the Proposed District Plan (Stage 1)

Waikato District Council has called for ‘further submissions’ on nearly 1,000 submissions that it received following notification of the Proposed Waikato District Plan (Stage 1) in July last year.

Waikato District Council Chief Executive Gavin Ion says, “This is an important milestone on our progress towards finalising a new District Plan that brings together the old Franklin and Waikato sections to provide a consistent approach to development and growth across the district.”

A further submission is a written statement that allows you to support or oppose other people’s submissions. It gives you the opportunity to comment on how a submission may impact you, and to have your views considered by the Hearings Panel along with the original submission. You do not need to have made an original submission to make a further submission.

The period for further submissions is open until 9am on Monday 27 May 2019.    Anyone requesting to be heard will have an opportunity to present their submission in person at the hearings which are scheduled to start later this year. 

Gavin Ion says the District Plan is an important document that tells the community how the district’s land can be used, developed and subdivided.

“The Plan gives guidance as to what you can do with your land, for example, whether you can subdivide your property and where you can site a building. It also protects our cultural heritage and our environment by identifying Maaori sites of significance, heritage buildings and significant natural areas.” 

Stage 1 of the Proposed District Plan includes all topics and provisions except those related to natural hazards and climate change, which form part of Stage 2.  A draft of Stage 2 is expected to be released later this year.

The Waikato District Council’s planning and policy team’s advice for people wishing to make further submissions on Stage 1 is to take the time to read and understand the submissions that have already been made in the areas of interest to you, and how these submissions might affect you.  

In order to assist you, the submissions already made, and the Summary of Submissions (listed by submitter and by order of the chapters in the Proposed District Plan), can be found on the Council’s website www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz.  Printed versions are also available in all the Council’s offices and libraries.  

You are entitled to make a further submission if you can demonstrate a special interest in the Proposed District Plan. So please take care to show either that your interest is greater than the public in general, or that you are representing a relevant aspect of the public interest.  If in doubt, Council staff suggest you make a further submission and the Hearings Panel will decide whether it can be considered.