Notice of Proposed Plan Change Tahi – Review of Designations

Under Clause 5 of the First Schedule of the Resource Management Act 1991, the Palmerston North City Council gives notice of Proposed Plan Change Tahi – Review of Designations.

Palmerston North City Council has prepared Proposed  Plan Change Tahi, which relates to the designations listed in Section 24 to the Operative Palmerston North District Plan. The plan change reviews and updates Section 24 to ensure it accurately reflects existing infrastructure and supports future growth in the city.

The proposed changes would:

• Confirm existing designations requested to be rolled over by the Requiring Authorities responsible for these designations, with or without changes
• Correct inconsistent or unclear wording and formatting
• Update outdated purpose statements for some designated sites
• Fix outdated or inaccurate mapping
• Expand the stop bank designation to include the full extent of the existing stopbank system
• Add eight new designations requested by Requiring Authorities, including existing schools and stormwater detention areas

Viewing the proposed plan change

You can view the proposed plan change and accompanying maps on the consultation page.

View the proposed plan change document

Paper copies of the plan change, along with prescribed submission forms, are also available at the Council Customer Service Centre and all Palmerston North community libraries.

Making a submission

Anyone can make a submission, provided that they would not gain a trade competition advantage through the submission. In such circumstances, they can only make a submission if they are directly affected by the environmental effects of the proposal and it does not relate to the effects of trade competition.

Submissions must be written on the prescribed form, including submissions received via email. Email submissions do not require a signature.

The closing date for submissions is 4pm, 28 May 2026.

The submission must be in Form 5 and must state whether or not you wish to be heard on your submission. Copies of this form are available from the Palmerston North City Council and are available below. Submission forms must be lodged with the Council by one of the following options:

What happens next

After submissions close, Council will prepare and publicly notify a summary of submissions, along with a copy of the submissions made, and where these will be available to read. There will then be an opportunity to make further submissions in support of, or opposition to, original submissions.

If you’d like to speak in person at a hearing on this matter, please indicate this on your submission form, and we will let you know once a hearing date is confirmed. A hearings panel will consider all submissions and make recommendations on the proposed plan change. Any person who has made a submission has the right to appeal to the Environment Court against any decision made by the relevant Requiring Authority as it relates to their submission.

Please note: If you are a property owner with tenants or occupiers other than yourself, please ensure they are made aware of the public notification of the Proposed Plan Change.