About the District Plan

The Waimakariri District Plan identifies issues considered important in relation to sustainable management of the environment.

The Council is required to have a District Plan prepared under the Resource Management Act 1991.

The Waimakariri District Plan has been prepared in conjunction with the local community. To manage the issues outlined in the plan, a number of objectives, policies and methods, including rules, have been developed which relate to land use and subdivision.

The District Plan is constantly evolving and undergoing review to meet the changing needs, demands and resources of the region. These changes occur both through Council initiated and Private Plan Changes. These Plan Changes are publicly notified and are also available online.

Included in the District Plan are:

  • Divided chapters which deal with different issues
  • Introductory chapters which will help you understand and use them
  • Maps that will help you work out what zone your property is located in (there are different rules for different zones).

Some things you may want to do will be dealt with in a range of chapters in the District Plan or in both the District and  Regional Plans. If this is the case, you will needed to look through different parts of the plans before you can determine whether or not you need resource consent.

If what you want to do is not specifically mentioned, you may still require a resource consent and you should check the introductory chapters of the plans for guidance.

Further Information on the Waimakariri District Plan

For all planning enquiries please contact the Duty Planner on 03 311 8900, email duty.planner@wmk.govt.nz, or in person at the Rangiora Service Centre, 215 High Street, Rangiora.

Notification of Decisions on Council and Private Plan Changes

Any Council Plan Change or Private Plan Change decision, including Rules, has legal effect from the date of notification and the District Plan is deemed amended in accordance with the decisions. Please refer to the Council Plan Changes or  Private Plan Changes pages for any decisions issued.

The online version of the District Plan will not be updated until these plan changes are made operative, therefore the online version of the District Plan should be read in conjunction with the decision on all plan changes.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act - Section 27 Notice

Pursuant to section 27(1)(a)  of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011, the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery has amended the Waimakariri District Plan to provide for temporary uses and temporary buildings for workers accommodation.

Chapter 39 has been added to the Waimakariri District Plan, and sets out an Objective, Policies, Rules and Guideline, attached as an appendix, to provide for suitable accommodation to meet the needs of workers supporting the rebuild of greater Christchurch.

An interactive GIS map where you can view the boundaries of Map A ‘UDS greater Christchurch area’ is available on the Environment Canterbury website.

Disclaimer for the Waimakariri District Plan

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that this online version of the District Plan is accurate and up-to-date, it should not be regarded as the definitive version of the District Plan.

In addition, as the Planning Maps use colour to depict zonings and highlight features, they should not be printed without a key also being printed at the same time to avoid misinterpretation of the colours.