Matters the new Timaru District Plan must comply with

District plans:

• must give effect to the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement.
• must give effect to any national policy statement.
• must give effect to the regional policy statement.
• must not be inconsistent with a water conservation order.
• must not be inconsistent with a regional plan.
• a rule in a plan cannot be more lenient than a national environmental standard.
• a rule in a plan can prevail over a national environmental standard if the rule is more stringent and the standard expressly allows a rule to be more stringent than the standard.

When preparing or changing a district plan the territorial authority:

• must have regard to any proposed regional policy statement in respect of the region; or proposed regional plan of its region in respect of any matter of regional significance.
• must have regard to any management plans and strategies prepared under other Acts.
• must have regard to relevant entries in the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Register to the extent that their content has a bearing on the resource management issues of the region.
• must have regard to regulations relating to ensuring sustainability, or the conservation, management, or sustainability of fisheries resources to the extent that their content has a bearing on the resource management issues of the region.
• must have regard to the extent to which the district plan needs to be consistent with the plans or proposed plans of adjacent territorial authorities.
• must take into account any relevant planning document recognised by an iwi authority and lodged with the territorial authority, to the extent that their content has a bearing on the resource management issues of the district.
• must not have regard to trade competition.

Note that those drafting and changing district plans should also consider how national environmental standards impact on plan provisions. Rules that conflict with or duplicate a national environmental standard must be removed, generally as soon as practicable after the standard comes into effect. The Resource Management Act 1991 Schedule 1 process is not required to be followed when making these changes.

Last updated: 24 Feb 2021