Notice of Manderson Bush Private Plan Change request

Palmerston North City Council has agreed to process and notify the Manderson Bush Private Plan Change request from Peters Avenue Company Limited to rezone approximately 77 hectares of rural-zoned land in the Operative Palmerston North District Plan to a combination of Residential, Conservation and Amenity. The property includes an area of privately-owned remnant kahikatea forest, known as Manderson Bush.

A private plan change request is proposed by a person, company, or organisation rather than the council. The council manages the process, including notifying the public, seeking submissions and holding hearings. It also assesses the proposal, considers public feedback from submissions and then makes its own recommendations on the requested plan change. A panel of Hearing Commissioners then decides whether to approve it, sometimes with modifications.

Key parts of the proposal include:

• Protection of an 8-hectare remnant kahikatea forest (Manderson Bush) as a conservation and amenity reserve, which will be vested in the Council.
• Creating an open space recreation reserve next to Manderson Bush.
• Enabling the construction of around 800–900 new homes, including medium-density residential housing along the central road network in the structure plan.
• Constructing a stormwater management and treatment network to manage stormwater safely.
• Reducing the area currently located within the Flood-Prone Overlay.
• Introducing a new chapter to the Operative District Plan - called the Manderson Bush Development Area.
• Including Manderson Bush in the schedule of significant sites in Section 17: Cultural and Heritage of the District Plan.
• Introducing a definition for the Manderson Bush Development Area.

The Manderson Bush Private Plan Change is notified under Clause 5 of the First Schedule of the Resource Management Act 1991.

Make your submissions to Manderson Bush Private Plan Change request

For more information about the request, or to make a submission, go to the consultation web page.

Have your say today

Information on the request and paper copies of the submission form are also available at our Customer Service Centre or any of our community libraries. You can also call us on 06 356 8199 to have a copy sent to you.

Any person may make a submission on the request. 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, 15 May 2026.

To get your submission to us, either:

All submissions will be summarised and made available for further submissions in support, or opposition to, submissions already made. A hearing will be held if any submitters ask to be heard in support of their submission. If you wish to speak to your submission, please indicate this on your submission form. If there is a hearing, we will write to all submitters regarding the date. Once a decision has been made, any submitter who disagrees with any part of the decision can appeal to the Environment Court on matters raised in their submission.

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