New planning laws are now in place. The Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions & Transport is publishing guidance, tools and updates on this website as the new planning system is introduced in stages.
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Farming and growing
Find out what the new planning system means for farming, growing, forestry, environmental limits, permits and freshwater farm plans.
Overview
The new planning system will provide clearer and more consistent settings for managing land use, natural resources and environmental effects.
For farmers, growers, foresters and other primary sector businesses, this means clearer national direction, more consistent planning rules, and a more targeted approach to managing environmental effects.
The Natural Environment Act includes a goal to enable the use and development of natural resources, including for producing food and fibre. The system will use tools such as national standards, natural environment plans, freshwater farm plans, consents, permits and environmental limits to manage activities and their effects.
What the new planning system means for farming and growing
More consistent rules and clearer national direction
National policy direction and national standards will help shape the plans, rules, consents and permits that affect primary sector activities.
They will give councils clearer requirements for managing primary sector activities and environmental effects.
Over time, this should create more consistent planning requirements across the country, while still allowing for local rules where the legislation permits them.
For farmers, growers and rural businesses, more consistent rules will make it easier to understand what applies to activities such as land use, discharges, water takes, vegetation clearance and earthworks.
More focused regulation of environmental effects
The new system is intended to focus regulation on the effects and matters that need to be managed under the legislation, rules and standards.
This may mean some lower-risk farming, growing, forestry and other primary sector activities face fewer requirements where environmental limits and rules allow.
Activities with small effects may still need to be managed if those effects add up over time or put pressure on natural resources, such as freshwater, soil, air, coastal water or biodiversity.
Where natural resources are not under pressure, voluntary action, farmer-led initiatives and catchment groups may be used before introducing additional regulation.
Environmental limits and resource management
Environmental limits will set boundaries for the effects activities can have on freshwater, coastal water, air, land, soil and indigenous biodiversity.
For farmers, growers and other primary sector businesses, activities may be managed through a mix of national standards, natural environment plans, rules, freshwater farm plans, consents, permits, monitoring or action plans. The approach used will depend on local circumstances.
Environmental limits will apply to areas such as catchments, rather than individual properties.
Freshwater farm plans
Freshwater farm plans help identify environmental risks on a farm and set out practical actions to manage them. They play an important role in helping farmers manage the environmental effects of farming activities under the new system.
During the transition, freshwater farm plans are expected to be introduced through existing RMA provisions.
Freshwater farm plans will be tailored to the level of environmental risk and the needs of the catchment. Certification and auditing will be based on both the risk of on-farm activities and the condition of the catchment.
Consents and permits for primary sector activities
Some primary sector activities will be able to go ahead without a consent or permit if they meet the relevant rules and standards.
Other activities may still need a land-use consent, natural resource permit, or both, depending on their type, scale and potential effects.
Where a consent or permit is needed, decisions will focus on effects and matters that are relevant under the applicable rules and legislation. Relevant rules may still require decision-makers to consider effects on natural resources, people, infrastructure capacity, natural hazards, environmental limits, protected places or features, and the wider area.
Public or targeted notification will occur where the relevant thresholds for adverse effects are met, or where the rules or legislation require it.
Allocation of natural resources
The RMA’s existing allocation methods for natural resources, such as freshwater, will continue for now. This includes allocation through rules (eg, permitted activities and allocation to activity types such as public drinking water). Permits will generally continue to be allocated on a ‘first-in, first-served’ basis with priority for existing users seeking replacement permits.
The new system will not introduce earlier proposals for market-based allocation methods or comparative assessment processes at this stage. For farmers, growers and other resource users, that means the current approach will continue while future options are considered.
Permitted activities and registration
Some permitted activities can go ahead without registration. Councils can only require registration where national standards specifically require or allow it.
Land use and property rights
The Planning Act includes goals and provisions relating to the use, development and enjoyment of land.
Land-use activities may be able to go ahead where they meet the relevant rules and standards. Natural resources, such as freshwater, coastal water, air, land, soil and indigenous biodiversity, will continue to be managed through national direction, standards, plans, consents and permits where needed.
Relief where rules significantly impact the reasonable use of land
Some plan rules may significantly affect a landowner’s reasonable use of land. This may happen where councils propose rules to protect matters such as:
- significant historic heritage
- outstanding natural landscapes or features
- sites of significance to Māori
- high natural character areas or identifiable areas of land-based indigenous biodiversity.
Where regulatory relief requirements apply, councils may need to provide relief to eligible landowners through a relief framework in the relevant plan. Relief can include monetary payments, rate or fee reductions, extra development rights, land swaps or targeted grants. Landowners may be able to ask for a review of how the relief framework has been applied to their land.
See regulatory relief and property rights.
Disputes and the Planning Tribunal
A new Planning Tribunal will be able to hear a range of disputes, including those about information requests, notification decisions, consent or permit conditions and regulatory relief.
What happens next
The new planning system will be introduced in stages. Existing RMA plans, consents and council processes will continue during the transition. Farmers, growers and other primary sector businesses should continue to check the rules that apply in their area before changing activities or making investment decisions.
A transitional consenting framework will apply before the full system is in place. This will make some changes to consent and notice of requirement processes while existing RMA plans remain in effect.
Existing RMA resource consents will carry over into the new system as planning consents, natural resource permits, or both, depending on what they authorise. Some existing RMA consents that would otherwise expire between the Planning Act and Natural Environment Act passing into law and two years after the specified transition date will be extended. In most cases, they will remain in place until two years after the specified transition date. However, water-related consents will not be extended beyond the 35-year maximum from when the consent started.
These extensions do not apply to consents associated with wastewater networks, as defined under the Water Services Act 2021.
Some RMA plan changes already underway will continue during the transition where the transition rules allow. The legislation introduces specific arrangements for Waikato’s Plan Change 1 and Manawatū-Whanganui’s Plan Change 2 to the One Plan.
Over time, new national direction, standards and regional combined plans will set out more detail about environmental limits, freshwater farm plans, permitted activities, consents, permits, allocation settings and other rules that affect primary sector activities.
Farmers, growers, foresters, aquaculture operators, primary sector organisations and other interested groups will have opportunities to take part in relevant national direction, regional spatial planning and plan-making processes.
We will add more information over time, including guidance on planning rules, environmental limits, consents, permits and freshwater farm plans.
See consents and notices of requirement during the transition period.