Resource Management Reform

The Strategy and Policy Committee in considering changes to New Zealand’s environmental legislation has adopted a short-term workstream focus approach to maintain progress for 5-key Environmental Policy workstreams.

The short term focus environmental workstreams are:

• Urban growth - Plan Change 81: implementing the Nelson Tasman Future Development Strategy.
• Natural Hazards – Plan Change 85: responding to hazards and climate change.
• Freshwater – Plan Change 84:  this will address priority land and freshwater issues in Tasman and to assist in achieving the purposes of the Te Waikoropupū Springs Water Conservation Order.
• Outstand Natural Landscapes and Features – Plan Change 82& 83 progressing a plan change to address a longstanding obligation.
• Coastal – Port Tarakohe and Port Motueka plans, marine ecological research, and implementing the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement within the above workstreams.

These workstreams will be progressed via changes to the existing Tasman Resource Management Plan through 2024 to 2026 and reviewed regularly to prioritise whether they remain the same or changes need to be made.

You'll have opportunities to follow and engage with these workstreams on our Shape Tasman platform.(external link)

Work on policy outside of the short-term focus workstreams, will be paused until there is clarity on the future. However, there are projects that will continue alongside the focus workstreams, and they are:

• Future Development Strategy implementation
• Motueka and Māpua spatial plans
• Deferred zoning
• Tasman Resource Management Plan - E-Plan migration
• Biodiversity preparatory work to implement the NPS-IB
• Highly productive land preparatory work to implement the NPS-HPL

Timeline

Once there is more clarity around the new system that will replace the current RMA led system we will be able to make decisions on restarting the development of the Tasman Environment Plan.