How regional spatial plans will work

What regional plans are

Regional spatial plans will include objectives, maps and actions to guide local authorities when preparing their land use and natural environment plans. They may include policies, methods or other types of provisions (but not rules or zones). Regional spatial plans will also inform local authorities’ long-term plans and regional land transport plans, helping to align planning.

The level of detail in a regional spatial plan will depend on the issue, the context and how certain the information is. However, the plan will not determine or prescribe outcomes for individual sites (apart from designations sought through the spatial plan process).

Using existing spatial plans during the transition

Existing regional or sub-regional spatial plans, and future development strategies, may help inform regional spatial plans. However, any content included in a draft regional spatial plan will still need to go through the normal spatial planning process and be consistent with the Planning Act and Natural Environment Act’s scope, goals and national instruments.

Schedule 1, clause 11 sets out specific requirements for incorporating information from the Resource Management Act into new regional spatial plans. There is no requirement to prepare, publish, review or update future development strategies during the transition to the new planning system. Once a regional spatial plan is approved, it is expected to replace existing spatial plans. Tier 1 and tier 2 local authorities will also not be required to prepare and implement future development strategy implementation plans during the transition period.

What regional spatial plans will identify

Regional spatial plans will identify:

• priority areas where growth or change may be expected or planned
• infrastructure and services of strategic importance for growth or change
• where important environmental, natural hazard or other constraints to using and developing land or the coastal marine area exist
• the key land use and infrastructure actions needed to achieve the region’s strategic priorities.

Why regional spatial plans matter

The new planning system is designed to make long-term decisions about growth, change, infrastructure and environmental outcomes in a more coordinated way.

Regional spatial plans help:

• align planning and infrastructure decisions across a region
• provide greater certainty about future growth and investment
• identify opportunities and constraints early
• support more coordinated decision-making between local authorities, infrastructure providers and central government
• guide future planning and investment over the long term.

What regional spatial plans must map and consider

Section 76 of the Planning Act sets out what regional spatial plans must map or otherwise record and consider. These include:

• priority areas for growth and change in the region, taking into account constraints, projections, demand and analysis and testing of options
• existing and future infrastructure of strategic importance for growth and change in the region
• significant existing designations and indicative locations of future designations
• where there are significant constraints on using or developing land and the coastal marine area, including environmental limits (where known and relevant) and natural hazard exposure
• places requiring adaptation to the effects of climate change
• statutory acknowledgements, sites of significance to Māori, customary marine title areas and protected customary rights areas, and aquaculture settlement areas.

Using the best available information

Where national data is not available or not fit for purpose, spatial plan committees should apply the best available information and evidence, using existing regional and local information such as growth projections, hazard modelling and infrastructure capacity. Evidence and information used to develop the plan should be transparent and traceable so assumptions can be tested and updated.

How regional spatial plans guide future planning

Regional spatial plans will help align and guide other planning decisions. They will:

• be implemented by land use and natural environment plans. Long-term plans must also include steps to implement actions in the regional spatial plan and regional land transport plans must be consistent with the regional spatial plan.
• bring key priorities (eg, housing, infrastructure, transport, economic development, the environment and natural hazards) together in one place
• help make trade-offs visible and upfront, working through development and environmental tensions at a regional level rather than at the local level or on a case-by-case basis
• guide the sequence of investment, stating what happens first and where, to help local authorities, central government and infrastructure providers prioritise growth, change and infrastructure over the next 30 years
• not commit investment or funding to projects.